Crafty QR Code Makes Political Statement

QR codes, which create physical world hyperlinks or hardlinks, have sparked the imaginations of designers and artists. They’ve been used to make public statements (QR code fences and Invader’s QR Code murals) as well as fashion statements (QR code scarves). Now they are being used to make a political statement. Knitted QR codes have become the preferred medium for Rayna Fahey aka Kakariki from Radical Cross Stitch and a large one called “QRacks in the Land” was recently featured at the Streets of Melbourne Festival this past weekend. Fahey says they are “a way of exploring non-corporate alternatives to this potentially very interesting and useful communication medium.”

Given that Federation Square is a privately run space, I was a bit limited in what I could do in terms of overt political statements. So I decided to go covert.

I’ve been working on stitching QR Codes for some time now. I’ve been doing them on regular Aida fabric (14 count mostly) and they’ve been working really well. So I decided to do it large scale. This project was stitched with black and white finger knitted wool and stitched on animal fencing (which is tough to work with but has a lovely strong and square grid).

The piece designed for The Streets of Melbourne is designed to make a very clear statement on the irony of a privately owned and operated city square. A space that, within Western culture, has traditionally been the primary space for free speech. And of course this space in particular is part of the traditional gathering grounds for the people of the Kulin Nations.

It is to the Kulin Nations that this piece, QRacks in the Land, is dedicated.

The decoded message says: “We live, craft and play on Aboriginal land.”

[via Wooster Collective]