The Woman Who Knitted Herself a Child

The Woman Who Knitted Herself a Child, a bio-ethical fable, is a sound and text production following an ordinary scientist as she does an extraordinary thing: she is knitting herself a child. The piece explores the internal reveries of a woman as she tries to make sense of a changing and highly technological world of new genetic futures. She explores the memories of her past, of the natural birth of her own child, and then considers the possibilities created by the miraculous futures promised by cloning, IVF, stem cell technology and Dolly the sheep. To do this she knits together two strands of technology, the ancient knit and purl stitches, and the constantly evolving DNA double helix, with its four strands of amino acids.

This woman is a scientist; a woman trying to make sense of extraordinary things. But haven’t women always had to adapt? Take on new forms and shapes? She is knitting her way from her past into her future and hoping to keep herself connected to the technologies she is encountering.

By linking musical and soundscapes to the character’s internal reverie, the piece creates a sense of enchantment and menace as she creates this new 'being'. The musical spaces reflect her world, as well as the future worlds which she is contemplating. It is interlaced with an interview undertaken with Dr Meri Menidis, a female microbiologist from Melbourne, working in the area of transgenic agricultural cloning. The idea behind The Woman Who Knitted Herself a Child was developed and conceived as part of the Motherload creative development project, funded by the New Media Arts Fund of the Australia Council.