These tiny sweaters were knitted by volunteers and donated during the Fashionality exhibition, for Michèle Karch-Ackerman's The Sweaters, which is part is part of a nationally-touring
installation ongoing since 2003, entitled The
Lost Boys. It explores the loss of young lives during the First World War
and in particular, the Newfoundland regiment who fought in the battle of
Beaumont Hamel. It weaves together the story of James Barrie's Peter Pan with the stories of so many
lives lost in the First World War, and expresses loss, remembrance and
consolation.
The artist's intention is to knit or collect from
volunteers 801 sweaters for each soldier from the Newfoundland regiment who
fought in the battle of Beaumont Hamel. So
far the project consists of approximately four hundred miniature hand-made and -dyed
woollen sweaters knitted by the artist and an "army" of volunteers at
knitting bees across Canada. The artist dyes the sweaters and hangs them on
twig armatures for exhibition. Each volunteer adds a personal touch to the
pattern, and each sweater takes on a life of its own. Sometimes special details
are added (like a tiny toque, or a tag), and inside some of the sweaters,
knitters sometimes hide devotional letters.
If you would like to contribute a sweater to the
project, please contact fashionality2012@gmail.com for the pattern and instructions. Feel free to add a devotional letter
to the soldiers, which you can tuck inside the sweater, where it will remain.
Sweaters will be accepted until September 1, 2012. At right is one included by a recent contributor.
About
the Battle of Beaumont Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel is a commune in the Somme department in Picardy
in northern France.
During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was very close to
the front lines and saw heavy combat, especially during the Battle of the Somme which was the largest
Allied offensive of the entire war. July 1, 1916 was the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, and was a
slaughter for the Allies. Total Allied casualties on the opening day of the
Battle of the Somme were 57,470, of which 19,240 were fatal.
The 1st Newfoundland Regiment was one of the four battalions of the British
29th Division's 88th Brigade, and was virtually annihilated at the Battle of
Beaumont Hamel. 733 of 801 men in the 1st Newfoundland Regiment were killed or
wounded. In Newfoundland and Labrador, July 1 is Memorial Day to commemorate Newfoundland's heavy
losses in the battle.
