1

sarah browne
2
3
sarah browne
4
5
about this book 6
patterns 11
Rotten Politics 12
Expensive 14
Free Clean Water 16
Long Workhours 18
No War 20
Debt 22
Awesome Daycare 24
Exclusive Isolation 26
Safe Jobs/ High Taxes 28
Boredom 30
Minority Complex 32
Gossip 34
thoughts 37
A Model Society Sarah Browne 39
A Model Genome Gsli Plsson 40
Tese Days Are Ours FanWriterWV 45
Possible Memories Tom Moylan and Sarah Browne 47
Your Politics has Turned You Into Sheep 50
About this Book
Tis book of knitting patterns came from two years of conversation between artist
Sarah Browne and people living in Iceland. Tese sweaters contain fragments of these
discussions about Icelandic society knitted into their fabric, and this book illustrates
how to knit or adapt these sweaters for yourself.
Some reections and tangents to this process can be found at the back of this book in
the thoughts section.
6
How to Knit a Lopi Sweater
Traditional lopi sweaters (lopapeysa in Icelandic) are knitted in the round using
a circular needle or a set of double pointed needles. Sleeves and body are knitted
individually before all being put onto once circular needle and worked as a patterned
yoke. Decreases shape the yoke to the collar. Tis means that there is minimal
nishing required all thats needed is to graft or sew together the underarms and
work in any loose ends on the wrong side of the knitting. Lopapeysa are unisex and
there is no dierence between the front and back, so the slogans in the patterns can
be worn facing either way.
Needles and Other Tools
Circular needles, or sets of double pointed needles, can both be used to knit in the
round. For all of the garments in this book, you will need 6.5mm needles and 5.5mm
needles unless indicated otherwise. Te larger sections of the sweaters (main body
and yoke) are generally knitted on needles that are 60cm 80cm long, with a shorter
circular needle, or a set of double pointed needles, being used for smaller sections
such as the sleeves and collar. Useful extras include stitch holders, markers, pompom
makers, crochet hook, a sewing machine and a darning needle.
Straight needles are used for knitting sections that are worked back and forth this
includes the hoods and earaps in some of the patterns. Cardigans are knitted in
the same way as sweaters. Tey are divided after completion by machine-sewing two
sturdy rows of stitching on either side of the central stitch, and then cutting carefully
between them. Cus can then be knitted or crocheted onto the existing knitted
fabric.
Tension (gauge)
Te tension for all the pieces in this book, unless otherwise stated, is with larger
needle and stocking stitch, 13 sts and 18 rows to 4/ 10cm. Change needle size if
correct gauge is not obtained smaller needles to t more stitches in a smaller area, or
larger needles to give the stitches more spacing. Stitch gauge is more important than
row gauge it is easy to correct for row gauge by knitting more or fewer rows. All of
the garments in this book are made using double thicknesses of Icelandic unspun lopi
wool. (With lopi you never need to tie two ends together when starting a new skein of
yarn the last couple of inches can be twisted lightly together and knit as one). Other
yarns will yield dierent results, so be sure to knit a sample to check the tension and
get the correct sizing.
Two colour knitting
When knitting two or more colours in a row, the colour not in use should be carried
loosely across the wrong side of the garment, and twisted with the colour in use if
stranding over more than three stitches. If the colour not in use is pulled too tightly,
the nished knitting will pucker and be uneven. A trick to keep these strands loose
is to turn the work inside out so the wrong side of the work is on the outside of the
cylinder, which is slightly larger.
7
How to Read a Stitch Chart
Charts are graphs of squares that represent knitted fabric. When reading a chart, each
box represents one stitch. Te dierent symbols in the squares represent dierent
colours in the pattern which can be changed as you like. When knitting in the round,
you are always working on the right side of the sweater and all rows are read from
right to left, from the bottom of the grid upwards. (If knitting back and forth, charts
are followed right to left for the right side and left to right for the wrong side). A
grey, blocked out space in the grid marks a stitch that has disappeared because of a
reduction in the previous row.
Increasing & Decreasing
To increase on the sleeves, or between the ribbing and body of sweater, work as follows:
With left needle from front of work, pick up strand between last stitch knitted and next
stitch. Knit, twisting the strand by working into the loop at the back of the needle.
To decrease by one stitch, knit two stitches together. To decrease every fth stitch means
to knit four stitches, then knit two together, and to continue this way til the end of the
row. All decreases in the patterns are to be worked this way unless indicated otherwise.
To space a number of decreases evenly in a round, divide the total number of stitches on
the needle by the number of stitches to be decreased. If the answer is a whole number, knit
two less than this number, knit two together, and repeat to the end of the row.
Example: 200/ 20 = 10. *K8, k2tog; repeat from*.
Abbreviations
dec decrease
dpns double pointed needles
inc increase
k knit
k1, p1 knit one, purl one (rib)
k2tog knit two together
MC main colour
pm place mark
RH right hand
rnd round
RS right side
sl 1, k1, psso slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over
sc single crochet
st stitch
St st stocking stitch (alternate rows of knit and purl)
WS wrong side
8
Repeats
A repeat is always counted from one stitch to the stitch immediately preceding the
same point in the next pattern. A repeat of six reduces regularly and is easy to work
with, as does eight or nine. However repeats of ve and seven are dicult as there is
no central stitch and a very blocky pattern emerges. If separate borders are used (as
in this book), and no attempt is made to synchronise the dierent bands of pattern in
the yoke, there is no problem about the number of stitches, or the repeat, so long as
it ts into every band.
Designing - How to Make Patterns
All patterns in this book are bespoke, knitted for a particular individual and to
accommodate a particular text. Alternative sizings are not given in the patterns, but
this is both because sizings are very exible, and its hoped that the enthusiastic reader
will use this book to help design their own patterns and unique sweaters.
Patterning is easy with a little patience, a few sums and some pages of graph paper. It
is especially easy with the lopi sweater because of the way it is knit. Numbers indicated
show approximate number of stitches to be used as base pattern for (main body/
sleeves):
Women: S (130/ 30), M (140/ 36), L (150/ 38)
Men: S (150/ 38), M (160/ 40), L (170/ 40)
Sizes for young people and children can be worked out more exactly (or a design made
for a tighter or looser adult t) by knitting a sample and working out the number of
stitches to a desired measurement.
You need to:
1. Knit a sample and work out the number of stitches for the approximate
chest size you want to knit to.
2. Pick out pattern repeats that you like, and note what number the repeat is.
Your repeat must divide evenly into the total number of stitches for a round,
for example, a repeat of 8 will work into a round of 136 sts 17 times.
3. All lopi sweaters loosely follow the same basic structure of reductions that
begin at the yoke: 12 rows, dec every 8
th
st in the next rnd; 8 rows, dec every
6
th
st in the next rnd; 6 rows, dec every 4
th
st in the next rnd; 4 rows, dec
every 2
nd
st in the nal rnd; switch to smaller needles and nish collar with
ribbing. Reductions become more frequent over fewer stitches as the yoke
nears the collar; their intervals and frequency are very adaptable.
4. A note on text inserts: these are easy to manage once you work them out
on graph paper and how you want them to be centred (or not) within the
pattern. Work out the total sts for your text; allow a space of around 2 sts
on either side; subtract this total from the total number of sts in the round.
Ten work out a repeat that will t evenly within this second total. Make
sure to begin the repeat at a point that allows to nish it neatly before the
text insert, e.g. so that it nishes on a complete snowake (or other motif )
before the text begins.
Resources
For ideas and practical help:
www.knitknit.net
Artists publication dedicated to the intersection of traditional craft and
contemporary art, founded in 2002 by artist Sabrina Gschwandtner.
www.microrevolt.org
knitPro is a web application that translates digital images into knit,
crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns.
www.stealthissweater.com
Artist Lisa Anne Auerbachs website title refers to Abbie Homans
Steal Tis Book, a survival guide and manifesto for those who fantasize
about (or pursue) anarchy. Her knitting follows similar politics.
www.woolworks.org
Volunteer-run site full of information for handknitters. Access to free
patterns, stockist information, knitting books and magazines, internet
resources and knitting guilds.
9
10
11
12
Rotten Politics
Main body
With colour 2 and smaller
circular needle, cast on
132 sts. Join, being careful
not to twist sts. Work 2
in k1, p1 rib. Change to
larger needle and begin
chart 1. Switch to MC.
Work evenly in knit until
body measures desired
length [14 approx]. On
the nal row, bind o 6 sts
for underarm, knit until 60
sts on RH needle and put
on holder for front, bind
o next 6 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break o
MC. Leave on needles.
Sleeves
With colour 2 and smaller
circular needle, cast on 32
sts. Work cu as k1, p1
rib to desired length [2
approx]. Transfer to larger
circular needle/ dpns and
inc by 4 sts spread evenly
in the rst row 36 sts.
Work chart 1. Switch to
MC and inc by 2 sts every
8th row to a total of 42 sts.
Complete desired length
to underarm. Final row:
sl 3 sts, work to the nal
3 sts and tie o. Tese 6
sts are for the underarm.
Place the remaining 36 sts
on a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
Te repeat pattern of the
yoke is linked and decreases
evenly. Grey shaded boxes in
the chart represent stitches
that have disappeared
through a reduction. With
larger needle and MC, k
36 across one sleeve, k 60
across front, k 36 across
other sleeve, k 60 across
back, pm and join total
192 sts. Work chart 2:
dec every 6
th
st as marked
in row 12 164 sts. Text
insert: k 39 sts [chart 3
- linking the repeat to chart
2] + k2 st MC + [rotten
politics chart 4 32 sts]
+ k1 st MC+ k 64 sts
[chart 3] to end of row.
Continue until repeats
are complete. Dec evenly
by 36 sts in nal row of
the repeat 128 sts. NB:
in the next repeat, the tips
of the triangles pointing
downward meet with
alternate lines in colour 3 the
previous row. Work chart
5, decreasing every 3
rd
st in
row 5 - 96 sts, and every
2
nd
st in row 10. Te yoke
reduces to 64 sts after the
nal repeat.
Finishing
With smaller dpns or
circular needle and colour
2, work x 3 in k1, p1
rib for neckband. Cast o
loosely, fold in and secure
with stitching. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1, 2, 3 & 5
4
13
Rotten Politics
Modelled by Arna Bra Karlsdttir
14
Expensive
Cape
Te cape is knitted like
an enlarged and extended
yoke section.
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on
179 sts. Join, being careful
not to twist sts. Work
2 in seed st. Change to
larger needle and work 2
rows in MC. Text insert: k
72 sts [chart 1] + 1 st MC
+ [expensive chart 2
33 sts] + 1 st MC + k 72
sts [chart 1] to end. K 8
rnds MC. In the nal rnd,
dec by 3 sts spread evenly
176 sts. Work chart 3.
K 1 row in MC, dec every
5
th
st 146 sts. K 6 rnds
in MC. K 1 row in MC,
dec every 5
th
st 121 sts.
Work chart 4. K 1 row in
MC, dec every 3
rd
st 90
sts. K 3 rnds MC. K nal
row as k1, k2tog 60 sts.
Mark a central st in the
centre of the front (neck),
centred directly above the
expensive text insert.
Hood
Te hood is split by
picking up the 60 sts at
the neck, beginning at the
marked midpoint, and
knitting back and forth on
straight needles. Begin
with smaller needles
(same size as used for
cus) and work 1 in k1,
p1 rib. Switch to larger
needles (same size as used
for body) and work in St
st for 11 approx. Do not
cast o.
Finishing
Fold over the hood and
graft sts together neatly
at the top. Using a 6 mm
crochet hook, work 1 rnd
sc around the edge in
colour 2. Make pom poms
if desired (Can be worked
into hood using elastic
thread). Work in ends
on the wrong side of the
knitting.
1
2
3
4
15
Expensive Modelled by Nalini Grndal with Bjarni Grndal
16
Free Clean Water
Main body
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on
170 sts. Join, being careful
not to twist sts. Work
2 in k1, p1 rib. Change
to larger needle and knit
one row. On the second
row, work pattern repeat
as in chart 1, ignoring
the reductions marked
for the rst row. Work
evenly in knit until body
measures desired length
[15 approx]. On the nal
row, bind o 6 sts for
underarm, knit until 79 sts
on RH needle and put on
holder for front, bind o
next 6 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break
o MC. Leave 158 sts on
needles.
Sleeves
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on 40
sts. Work cu as k1, p1
rib to desired length [2
approx]. Transfer to larger
circular needle/ dpns and
knit one row, increasing
by 4 sts, evenly spaced
40 sts. Work chart 1,
ignoring the reductions
marked. Beginning on the
1st row after chart 1, inc
by 2 sts every 6
th
row. Do
this 6 times, ie. until there
has been an increase of 12
sts and the total number
of sts knitted on the arm
is 52. Work desired length
to underarm typically
16 approx. Final row: sl 3
sts, work to the nal 3 sts
and tie o. Tie o these 6
sts for underarm, place the
remainder 46 sts on
a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
Join sleeves to body as
follows: with larger needle
and MC, k 46 across one
sleeve, k 79 across front,
k 46 across other sleeve,
k 79 across back, pm and
join total 250 sts. Work
chart 1 upside down.
Note the decrease every
5
th
st in row 14 208 sts.
Knit one row MC. Begin
chart 2 in next row by
knitting a row in colour
2. Text insert [charts 2
& 3]: work 40 sts [chart
2 diamond pattern] +
k2 colour 3 only + [free
clean water 60 sts]
+ k2 colour 3 only + k
remaining 100 sts [chart
2 diamond pattern]. K 1
rnd in MC, dec evenly by
44 sts - 164 sts. K chart 5
and dec every 2
nd
st in the
next row: 110 sts. Knit a
row in MC dec a further
2 sts spread evenly around
the yoke 108 sts. Knit
another row in MC as k1,
k2tog 72 sts.
Finishing
For the collar, with
smaller dpns or circular
needle and MC, work
3 in k1, p1 rib. Cast o
loosely, fold in and secure
with stitching. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
2 & 3
1
4 & 5
17
Free Clean Water
Modeled by Hinn Jnsson
18
Long Workhours
Main body
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast
on 132 sts. Join, being
careful not to twist sts.
Work 2 in k1, p1 rib.
Change to larger needle
and begin chart 1. Work
evenly in knit until body
measures desired length
[14 approx]. On the nal
row, bind o 5 sts for
underarm, knit until 61 sts
on RH needle and put on
holder for front, bind o
next 5 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break o
MC. Leave on needles.
Sleeves
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on
32 sts. Work cu as k1,
p1 rib to desired length
[2 approx]. Transfer
to larger circular needle/
dpns and inc 6 sts spread
evenly over the rst row.
Inc by 2 sts every 10th
row, until there are 42 sts.
Work desired length to
underarm. Final row: sl 3
sts, work to the nal 2 sts
and tie o. Tese 5 sts are
for the underarm. Place
the remaining 37 sts on
a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
With larger needle and
MC, k 37 across one
sleeve, k 61 across front,
k 37 across other sleeve,
k 61 across back, pm
and join total 192 sts.
Work chart 1, noting the
dec every 5th st in row 9
160 sts. Text insert: k 34
sts [chart 2] + 2 st colour
4 + [workhours chart 3
37 sts] + 3 sts colour 4 +
repeat [chart 2] to end of
row. Continue until charts
2 & 3 complete. K 1 row
in colour 3, dec every
4th st 128 sts. Next
rnd: because the pattern
repeats 9 times, an uneven
number, the diamond
shape is split either side
of the text insert long.
k 34 sts [chart 4] + 3 st
colour 3 + [long chart 5
14 sts] + 3 sts colour 3 +
repeat [chart 2] to end of
row. K 1 row in colour 3,
dec every 3
rd
st 96 sts.
Work chart 6. K 1 row in
colour 3, dec every 2nd
st 64 sts. Work chart 7.
Mark a central st in the
centre of the front (neck).
Hood
Te hood is knit by
picking up the 64 sts at
the neck, beginning at the
marked midpoint, and
knitting back and forth on
straight needles. Begin
with smaller needles
(same size as used for
cus) and work 1 in
k1, p1 rib. Switch to larger
needles (same size as
used for body), and work
in St st for 12 rows. In
the next row, inc by 1 st
either side of the central
st at the back of the hood.
Continue this repeat
every 3 rows or so until
there are 72 sts. Finish by
working the last 7 rows as
shown in chart 8, casting
o in the nal row.
Finishing
Fold over the hood and
sew it together at the top,
matching the two sides
of the pattern together
neatly.
Using a 6 mm crochet
hook, work 2 rnds sc
around the edge in
colour 2 and MC. Make
pompoms and a cord if
desired (can be worked
into hood using elastic
thread). Work in ends
on the wrong side of
the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1
2 & 3
4 & 5
6, 7 & 8
19
Modelled by Rosa Sigrn Jnsdttir Long Workhours
20
No War
Main body
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast
on 132 sts. Join, being
careful not to twist sts.
Work 2 in k1, p1 rib.
Change to larger needle
and begin chart 1. Work
evenly in knit until body
measures desired length
[14 approx]. On the nal
row, bind o 5 sts for
underarm, knit until 61 sts
on RH needle and put on
holder for front, bind o
next 5 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break o
MC. Leave on needles.
Sleeves
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on
36 sts. Work cu as k1,
p1 rib to desired length
[2 approx]. Transfer
to larger circular needle/
dpns and work chart 1.
Inc by 2 sts every 8
th
row,
until there are 43 sts.
Complete desired length
to underarm. Final row:
sl 3 sts, work to the nal
2 sts and tie o. Tese 5
sts are for the underarm.
Place the remaining 37 sts
on a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
With larger needle and
MC, k 38 across one
sleeve, k 61 across front,
k 37 across other sleeve,
k 61 across back, pm and
join total 198 sts. Work
chart 1 upside down. K 1
row in MC dec every 3
rd

st 149 sts. K 1 rnd MC
and 2 rnds in colour 3.
Text insert: k 36 sts [chart
2] + 3 st colour 3 + [no
war chart 3 23 sts]
+ 3 sts colour 3+ repeat
[chart 2] to end of row.
Continue until charts 2
& 3 complete. K 1 row in
MC, dec every 4
th
st 120
sts. Work chart 4. K 1 row
in MC, dec every 3
rd
st
90 sts. Work chart 5. K
1 row in MC as k1, k2tog
60 sts.
Finishing
With smaller dpns or
circular needle and MC,
work 3 in k1, p1 rib
for neckband. Cast o
loosely, fold in and secure
with stitching. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1 2
3
4 5
21
No War Modelled by sta Karen lafsdttir
22
Debt
Tis hat is knitted on a
5mm short circular needle
or a set of double pointed
needles. Te ear aps are
made by knitting back
and forth in rows, and
then added to the circular
needle to knit the hat
from the base up.
Ear Flaps
Cast on 18 sts with MC.
Row 3: dec by 2 sts rst
and last as sl 1, k1,
pass slipped st over. Tis
makes a neat edge for the
ear ap. Continue dec
knitwise in this manner
when working the RS
until 2 sts remain. Sl 1, k1,
psso. Break yarn. Repeat
for second ear ap.
Hat
With MC and RS facing,
cast on 24 sts. Pick up
and k 18 sts across the
cast-on edge of the rst
ear ap. Cast on 12 sts,
pick up and k 18 sts across
the second ear ap - total
72 sts. (Te larger space
between the ear aps is
the front of the hat). Place
mark and join. Change to
colour 3 and work 7 rows
in k1, p1 rib. K 1 row in
MC and work chart 1.
Text insert: k 3 sts MC +
[work chart 2 debt 16
sts] + k 3 sts MC + work
chart 3 to end, nishing
with 2 sts in MC. Work
chart 4. Shape top: K 1
row in colour 3, dec every
2
nd
st 48 sts (decrease
is marked on chart 4).
Work the following rnds
alternating as follows:
K 1 rnd in colour 2; K
1 rnd in MC dec every
2
nd
st. Continue until 6
sts remain. Remove pm,
k 2 rnds and break yarn.
Weave strand through
remaining sts and draw up
tightly.
Finishing
Weave in any loose ends
on the WS of the knitting.
Cords for the ear aps are
made by crocheting a line
of sc to the desired length
and attaching to the tip
of the earap. A pompom
can be made for the top of
the hat if desired.
1
2
3
4
23
Debt
Modelled by Margret Huldrunardttir
24
Awesome Daycare
Main body
With colour 2 and smaller
circular needle, cast
on 148 sts. Join, being
careful not to twist sts.
Work 2 in k1, p1 rib.
Change to larger needle
and begin chart 1. Work
evenly in knit until body
measures desired length
[14 approx]. On the nal
row, bind o 6 sts for
underarm, knit until 68 sts
on RH needle and put on
holder for front, bind o
next 6 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break o
MC. Leave on needles.
Sleeves
With colour 2 and smaller
circular needle, cast on 40
sts. Work cu as k1, p1
rib to desired length [2
approx]. Transfer to larger
circular needle/ dpns and
work chart 1. Beginning
on the 1
st
row after chart
1, inc by 2 sts every 6
th

row, until there are 52 sts.
Inc 1 nal st 3 rows later
to give a total of 53 sts.
Work desired length to
underarm. Final row: sl 3
sts, work to the nal 3 sts
and tie o. Tese 6 sts are
for the underarm. Place
the remaining 47 sts on
a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
With larger needle and
MC, k 47 across one
sleeve, k 68 across front,
k 47 across other sleeve,
k 68 across back, pm and
join total 230 sts. Work
chart 2. K 1 row in MC,
dec every 5
th
st 191 sts.
Text insert 1 [charts 3 &
4]: work 52 sts [chart 3] +
2 sts MC + [daycare 27
sts] + 2 sts MC + 108 sts
[chart 3]. K 1 row in MC,
dec every 4
th
st 153 sts.
Text insert 2 [charts 5 &
6]: Work 36 sts [chart 5] +
2 sts colour 3 + [awesome
31 sts] + 2 sts colour
3 + 82 sts [chart 5]. K 1
row in MC, dec every 3
rd

st 115 sts. Work chart 7,
at the same time dec by 3
sts spread evenly around
the rst row 112 sts. K
1 row in MC as k2tog, k1
74 sts.
Finishing
With smaller dpns or
circular needle and colour
2, work the collar in k1,
p1 rib for 3. Cast o
loosely, fold in and secure
with stitching. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
25
Awesome Daycare Modelled by Dolores Rs Valencia Walters & Jayden Isabelle Walters
26
Exclusive Isolation
Main body
With colour 2 and smaller
circular needle, cast on
150 sts. Join, being careful
not to twist sts. Work 2
in k1, p1 rib. Change to
larger needle and begin
chart 1. Switch to MC.
Work evenly in knit until
body measures desired
length [15 approx]. On
the nal row, bind o 6 sts
for underarm, knit until
69 sts on RH needle and
put on holder for front,
bind o next 6 sts for
underarm, knit to end of
rnd and put these sts on
holder for back. Do not
break o MC. Leave on
needles.
Sleeves
With colour 2 and smaller
circular needle, cast on 42
sts. Work cu as k1, p1
rib to desired length [2
approx]. Transfer to larger
circular needle/ dpns and
work chart 1. Switch to
MC. Inc 3 sts every 9
th

row until there are 51 sts.
Complete desired length
to underarm. Final row:
sl 3 sts, work to the nal
3 sts and tie o. Tese 6
sts are for the underarm.
Place the remaining 45 sts
on a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
With larger needle and
MC, k 45 across one
sleeve, k 69 across front,
k 45 across other sleeve,
k 69 across back, pm and
join total 228 sts. Work
chart 2, note dec every 6
th

st as marked in the nal
row 196 sts. Text insert:
k 51 sts [chart 3] + k2 st
MC + [exclusive chart
4 32 sts] + k1 st MC+
k 64 sts [chart 3] + k2 sts
MC+ [isolation chart 5
30 sts] + k1 st MC+ k
13 sts [chart 2] to end of
row. Continue until charts
3-5 are complete. K 1 row
in MC, dec every 4
th
st
156 sts. Work chart 6.
K 1 row in MC, dec every
3
rd
st 117 sts. K 1 row
in MC, dec a further 3 sts
spread evenly 114sts.
Work chart 7. K 1 row
in colour 2 as k1, k2tog
76 sts.
Finishing
With smaller dpns or
circular needle and colour
2, work 3 in k1, p1 rib
for neckband. Cast o
loosely, fold in and secure
with stitching. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
27
Exclusive Isolation Modelled by Viar Jnsson
28
Safe Jobs/ High Taxes
Main body
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast
on 144 sts. Join, being
careful not to twist sts.
Work 2 in k1, p1 rib.
Change to larger needle
and knit one row. On the
second row, work pattern
repeat as in chart 1. Work
evenly in knit until body
measures desired length
[14 approx]. On the nal
row, bind o 6 sts for
underarm, knit until 66 sts
on RH needle and put on
holder for front, bind o
next 6 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break o
MC. Leave on needles.
Sleeves
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on 36
sts. Work cu as k1, p1
rib to desired length [2
approx]. Transfer to larger
circular needle/ dpns and
knit one row, increasing
by 4 sts, evenly spaced
40 sts. Work chart 1.
Beginning on the 1
st
row
after chart 1, inc by 2 sts
every 6
th
row. Do this 8
times, ie. until there has
been an increase of 16 sts
and the total number of
sts knitted on the arm is
52. Work desired length
to underarm typically
16 approx. Final row: sl 3
sts, work to the nal 3 sts
and tie o. Tie o these 6
sts for underarm, place the
remainder 46 sts on
a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
With larger needle and
MC, k 46 across one
sleeve, k 66 across front,
sl next 6 sts of body for
underarm, k 46 across
other sleeve, k 66 across
back, pm and join total
224 sts. Work chart 2.
Note the decrease every
7
th
st in row 11 196 sts.
Switch to MC and knit
a row where every 8
th
st
is colour 2 (to join with
tip of previous pattern
repeat). Text insert [charts
4 & 5]: safe jobs is knitted
centrally on the front
section and high taxes
on the back. Work 53 sts
[chart 3] + 1 st MC +
[safe jobs 31 sts] + 1 st
MC + 63 sts [chart 3]
+ 1 st MC + [high taxes
34 sts] + 1 st MC + 11
sts [chart 3]. Tere is a
decrease to be worked
every 7
th
st in row 7 172
sts. Dec a further 4 sts
spread evenly over the
next row 168 sts. Te
repeat is completed one
row before the last row
of text (tips of the upper
case letters). Ten knit a
row in MC, dec every 5
th

st 140 sts. Work chart
6, dec every 4
th
st in nal
row 112 sts. Knit a row
in MC dec a further 4
sts spread evenly around
the yoke 108 sts. Work
chart 7, decreasing every
2
nd
st on row 5 72 sts.
Knit the nal row of the
pattern, decreasing by 8
sts spread evenly over the
row 64 sts.
Finishing
With smaller dpns or
circular needle and MC,
work the collar in k1,
p1 rib for 3 . Cast o
loosely, fold in and secure
with stitching. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
29
Safe Jobs/ High Taxes
Modelled by Vesna Jesic Danelsson with
Ana Saeds Jesic Trsdttir
5
30
Boredom
Main body
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on
110 sts. Join, being careful
not to twist sts. Work 2
in k1, p1 rib. Change to
larger needle and work
evenly in knit until body
measures desired length
[14 approx]. On the nal
row, bind o 5 sts for
underarm, knit until 50 sts
on RH needle and put on
holder for front, bind o
next 5 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break o
MC. Leave on needles.
Sleeves
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on 27
sts. Work cu as k1, p1
rib to desired length [1
approx]. Transfer to larger
circular needle: there are
no increases in the sleeves:
work desired length
[13 approx] straight to
underarm. Final row: sl 3
sts, work to the nal 2 sts
and tie o. Tese 5 sts are
for the underarm. Place
the remaining 22 sts on
a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
With larger needle and
MC, k 22 across one
sleeve, k 50 across front,
k 22 across other sleeve,
k 50 across back, pm and
join total 144 sts. Work
chart 1. K 1 row in MC,
dec every 5
th
st 120 sts.
Text insert: k 22 sts [chart
2] + 1 st MC + [boredom
chart 3 30 sts] + 2 sts
MC + repeat [chart 2] to
end of row. Continue until
charts 2 & 3 complete. K
1 row in MC, dec every
5
th
st 100 sts. Work
chart 4, at the same time
decreasing a further 4 in
the rst rnd to make the
repeat of 8 t within a
rnd of 96 sts. K 1 row in
MC as k1, k2tog 64 sts.
Work chart 5. K nal row
in MC, dec every 3
rd
st
48 sts. Mark a central st
in the centre of the front
(neck).
Hood
Te hood is split by
picking up and knitting
back and forth on straight
needles the sts either
side of the central stitch
(marked above) at the
neck. Begin with smaller
needles (same size as used
for cus) and work 1 in
k1, p1 rib. Switch to larger
needles (same size as used
for body) and work 4 rows
in St st. Inc by 1 st either
side of centre st (back of
neck) every 3
rd
row, until
there are 52 sts. Work
until hood measures 6
approx from neck cu.
Finish by working the
last 6 rows as shown in
chart 6. Cast o loosely in
colour 2.
Finishing
Fold over the hood and
sew it together at the top,
matching the two sides
of the pattern together
neatly.
Using a 6mm crochet
hook, work 1 rnd in
colour 2 around the edge
of the hood. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1
2
3
4
5
6
31
Boredom Modelled by Vignir Tor Gumundsson, with ris Arnardttir and Valey Sl Gumundsdttir
3
32
Minority Complex
Main body
With colour 2 and
smaller circular needle,
cast on 120 sts and pm
after the 30
th
st (this will
be the central opening
in the cardigan). Join,
being careful not to twist
sts. Work 2 in k1, p1
rib. Change to larger
needle and begin chart
1, arranging repeat so
that it is centred on the
midpoint marked. Work
evenly in knit until body
measures desired length
[14 approx]. On the nal
row, bind o 6 sts for
underarm, knit until 54 sts
on RH needle and put on
holder for front, bind o
next 6 sts for underarm,
knit to end of rnd and
put these sts on holder
for back. Do not break o
MC. Leave on needles.
Sleeves
With colour 2 and smaller
circular needle, cast on
30 sts. Work cu as k1,
p1 rib to desired length
[2 approx]. Transfer
to larger circular needle/
dpns and work chart 1.
Inc by 2 sts every 6
th
row,
until there are 42 sts.
Work desired length to
underarm. Final row: sl 3
sts, work to the nal 3 sts
and tie o. Tese 6 sts are
for the underarm. Place
the remaining 36 sts on
a holder. Work second
sleeve.
Yoke
With larger needle and
MC, k 36 across one
sleeve, k 54 across front,
k 36 across other sleeve,
k 54 across back, pm and
join total 180 sts. Work
chart 1 upside down.
Work chart 2 next note
dec every 5
th
st in nal
row 150 sts. Next rnd:
dec by 2 sts, evenly spaced,
while inserting text as
follows; work chart 2 until
38 sts remaining. Ten k
1 st colour 3 + [complex
chart 3 29 sts] + 1 st
colour 3 + repeat [chart
2] to end of row. K 1 row
in colour 3; begin with
k2tog and then dec every
5
th
st 119 sts. Next rnd:
work chart 4 until 40
sts remaining. Ten k 1
st colour 3 + [minority
chart 5 29 sts] + 1 st
colour 3 + repeat [chart
4] to end of row. K 1 row
in colour 3, dec every 4
th

st 96 sts. Work chart 7.
K 1 row in colour 2 as k1,
k2tog 64 sts. Change to
smaller needles and colour
3, and work 3 in k1,
p1 rib.
Finishing
Using a sewing machine,
rmly sew down 2 rows
of stitching (zig zag is
ideal) on either side of
the central stitch at the
front. Ten carefully
cut between the lines of
stitching. Buttonband
(left for a woman, front
for a man): With smaller
needles, colour 3 and
right side acing, pick up
50 sts. Work 7 rows in
k1 p1 rib and cast o
loosely. Mark position for
7 buttons, evenly spaced.
Buttonhole band: pick
up sts and work to match
buttonband. Work 3
rows rib. Buttonhole row:
work in rib to 1 st before
marker, cast o next 2
sts, and repeat to end.
On the next row, cast on
2 sts over cast o sts in
the previous row. Work 1
more row in rib and cast
o. Fold over collar and
sew rmly in place. Work
in ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1
2
4
5
6
3
33
Minority Complex
Modelled by Hrafnildur Sigurardttir
34
Gossip
Main body
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on
130 sts. Join, being careful
not to twist sts. Work
2 in k1, p1 rib. Change
to larger needle and knit
one row before beginning
pattern repeat [chart 1].
Work evenly in knit until
body measures desired
length [13 approx]. On
the nal row, bind o 6 sts
for underarm, knit until
59 sts on RH needle and
put on holder for front,
bind o next 6 sts for
underarm, knit to end of
rnd and put these 59 sts
on holder for back. Do
not break o MC. Leave
on needles.
Sleeves
With MC and smaller
circular needle, cast on 30
sts. Work cu as k1, p1
rib to desired length [2
approx]. Transfer to larger
circular needle. Inc by 2
sts every 6
th
row, to a total
of 42 sts. Work to desired
underarm length. Final
row: sl 3 sts to holder,
knit row and tie o last
3 sts for underarm. Place
the remaining 36 sts on a
holder and work second
sleeve.
Yoke
Join sleeves to body as
follows: With larger
needle and MC, k 36 sts
across one sleeve, k 59 sts
across front, k 36 across
other sleeve, k 59 sts
across back, pm and join
190 total sts. Work chart
1. Knit 1 row, dec every 5
th

st - 158 sts. Te row with
the heart pattern [chart 2
- a repeat of 10] and text
insert [chart 3] is knit as
follows: work 41 sts [chart
3] + 3sts plain + [gossip
21 sts] + 4 sts plain +
remaining 89 sts [chart
3]. Te heart pattern
should be arranged to
repeat either side of the
text. Tere are two rows of
plain knit in MC (except
the dot of the i in gossip)
after the heart pattern is
nished. On the second
row, dec every 4
th
st 126
sts. Work chart 4. Knit 1
row in MC. Knit 3, then
dec every 3
rd
st to end
96 sts. Work the 4 rows
of chart 5. In the next row,
switch to MC and dec
every 2
nd
st 64 sts.
Finishing
With smaller dpns or
circular needle and MC,
work 3 in k1, p1 rib
for neckband. Cast o
loosely, fold in and secure
with stitching. Work in
ends on the wrong side
of the knitting. Graft the
underarms.
1
2
3
5 4
35
Gossip Modeled by Hildur Skladttir with Margret Huldrunardttir
36
37

38

According to Te World Database of Happiness, Iceland is the happiest nation in the world.
1

Tis project works from the form of the iconic Icelandic lopi sweater, and its typical representation.
Popular with tourists as well as a vital part of the Icelanders self-image, it also serves as an
expression of an intimate relationship with an epic landscape. Te nostalgic and idealised
representation of the iconic Icelandic lopapeysa through knitting catalogues (traditional though
only invented around the 1940s) coincided neatly with my own received impressions of the place:
sublime scenery, a hardy people and a historically isolated though very advanced society. Tis
project marks an attempt to mediate these sentimental or simplied representations with people
who actually live there.
I placed an advertisement for knitwear models in Reykjavik newspapers, and the respondents
(male and female, aged between 5 and 85) formed a kind of micro-community or focus group for
me to base my research. Tey were asked to complete a short survey about life in Iceland (questions
included, what are the best and worst things about life in Iceland? How would you describe the
relationship with the landscape?)
2
A selection of their answers are edited and knitted into the lopi
sweaters I make for each of them. With a couple of exceptions, each model wears their own text.
Te sweaters are modeled in poses and locations typical of the utopian imagery of knitting pattern
photographs, which depict harmonious social relationships (often the nuclear family) and the
perfect union of people with nature. Tese images operate as a kind of currency and models are
paid in kind with a photographic print.
Te images are produced as 35mm slides, using a manual camera. Slide photography speaks a
language both of ocial and domestic archiving, of contrived timelessness. Te particular quality
of the images, combined with the technology that made them, cause them seem appear abstracted
from a current sense of time and place. Te question is how useful or dangerous this sense of
distance from the current moment, the seduction of this nostalgia, might be.
Svetlana Boym describes nostalgia as a historical emotion, and suggests that it conveys a sense of
loss that is not a simplistic longing for a return home: it does not necessarily suggest that what is
lost is properly remembered or could be easily found. Where Frederic Jameson sees the allure of
nostalgia as symptomatic of a society in which nothing any longer occurs,
3
Boym identies the
potential of a reective form of nostalgic longing that is linked to progressive thinking: fantasies
of the past determined by needs of the present have a direct impact on realities of the future.
4
Te title of the project refers to the models who participated, but also to the qualities that may be
necessary for the construction of this seemingly perfect social order.
1
Veenhoven, R., World Database of Happiness, Erasmus University
Rotterdam. Available at: http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl.
Accessed at January 2006.
World Values Survey via www.nationmaster.com.
2
Te survey was titled Social Fabric and in total there were 52
respondents. Top answers for the best things about living in Iceland
were: landscape/ nature (23.8%); safety/ security/ child-friendliness
(16.4%); clean air and water (14.9%); no war (11.9%); smallness/
isolation (10.5%); people (10.5%); social welfare (7.5%). Top answers
for the worst things about living in Iceland were: weather/ climate
(28.7%); cost of living (16.7%); consumerism/ personal debt (13.6%);
isolation/ smallness (12.1%); social exclusion (12.1%); long workhours
(4.6%); politics/ government (4.6%); increased violence (4.6%).
3
Jameson, Frederic, Nostalgia for the Present in Postmodernism: the
Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Verso, 1991.
4
Boym, Svetlana, Te Future of Nostalgia, Basic Books,
New York, 2001. page xvi.
A Model
Society /
2005-7
Sarah
Browne
39
Tis essay discusses the mappings of the new genetics,
informed by Sarah Brownes project in Iceland, A
Model Society. I suggest we think of the iconic Icelandic
sweater (lopapeysa) as being an extension of the skin of
the Icelanders body. In such a perspective, the circular,
coloured pattern typical for the lopi sweater - and, by
extension, Brownes project - hints at bodily signatures
or birthmarks. Tis is in line with what many Icelanders,
informed by modern genetic imagination and nationalist
rhetoric, would refer to as a model genome, a relatively
homogeneous genome ideally suited for analyses of
human genetics.
A Model Genome
Gsli Plsson
Sheep have been an important component of the
Icelandic economy from the time of settlement in the
ninth century. Teir wool is complex, with dierent
colours and textures that make it useful for many kinds
of clothing. Knitting was introduced to Iceland in the
Middle Ages, probably from England, and soon knitted
woollens replaced the woven vadml. Te currently
fashionable lopi sweater, however, is a fairly recent design.
Although the lopi pattern is obviously decorative, it also
has a utilitarian, practical function. Usually placed at
the wrists and waist (bottom) of the sweater, as well as
the yoke, the double or triple thicknesses of the wool at
these points (created by the stranded method of knitting
the pattern) serve to make it signicantly thicker and
warmer.
Te exact origins of the typical lopapeysa construct
- a combination of particular woollen material, knitting
style, and, last but not least, circular patterns of dierent
colours - is a matter of some debate. In one theory, the
characteristic circular patterns draw upon traditional
sweaters worn by Greenlandic women. Others suggest
the patterns originated in Southern Sweden by the
middle of the last century. Tus, the rst true knitted
yoke sweater has been attributed to the designer Anna-
Lisa Mannheim Lunns, born 1904, who worked for
Bohub Stickning in Sweden.
1
Still others maintain the
design is uniquely Icelandic. Many Icelanders like to
believe it is a native thing and often they imagine it is
much older than it really is. Most Icelandic jerseys
have only the remotest connection with Iceland ... lopi
is now as likely to have come from the back of British or
Falkland Island sheep as from an Icelandic one. Tis is
even truer now than two decades ago.
1
Te debate on the history and authenticity of the lopi
sweater is interesting in its own right as it resonates with
other debates (in both Iceland and many other contexts)
about purity focusing on, among other things, nature,
language, text, culture, and genome. Here as elsewhere,
such debates reect concerns with imagined communities,
nation making, and representation. Whatever the history
or origin of the design - an issue which is dicult, if
not impossible, to settle once and for all independent of
situated accounts and some form of representation - it
seems the popularity of the lopi sweater was established
soon after independence from Denmark in 1944, in the
wake of the nationalist movement. While it has for long
been popular among tourists, locally it fell out of fashion
for years. Young people in particular saw it as an archaic,
Wool Becomes Cool:
The Icelandic Lopi Sweater
40
Zooming In - Beyond the Skin
With the development of the new genetics during the
second half of the twentieth century (the scientic
discoveries and practices that enabled the visualizing of
genetic material), mapping was increasingly oriented to the
mapmakers themselves, to the minute contours of human
genetic material. Academic textbooks nicely illustrate
the language and imagery of the new genetics. Tus, one
standard textbook describes the drafting of the human
genome with the grand terms of discovery and voyaging:
For the rst time, we will know our genetic endowment -
the sequence of our DNA. Ten our voyage into the universe
within really will have begun.
2
In the current era of biomedical technology and new
genetics, visual markers of one kind or another - brain
scans and genetic ngerprints - establish who you are.
Could it be that lopi sweaters with their circular patterns of
dierent colours perform similar roles, classifying people
and establishing personal identities? Perhaps they should
be seen as remainders of roots, belonging, and the search
for the past as well as a commentary on the hyper-modern
world of genomic mapping in the age of the new genetics,
on voyages beyond the skin into the universe within.
Interestingly, in earlier times folk knitting served to situate
people in social space (not necessarily by intention, though,
but by default), due to the low frequency of travel and over
smaller distances.
1
In some contexts, the use of particular
patterns, colours, or dyes identied people of a region,
village or even a single family or farm.
Index of Genetic Symbols
ethnic relic only t for limited outdoor activities in bad
weather. During the last years, however, it has gained a
surprising boost embodying new kinds of signications,
enmeshed in late-modern capitalism and postmodern
playfulness. Not only is the lopapeysa both a working
outt in almost any kind of weather and a fashion
thing for both men and women and for all generations,
at times it functions as a kind of national costume
also appropriate for public occasions. Currently, there
is a lot of experimenting going on with material and
design. Sometimes the typical lopi design appears on
sweaters made in other material than wool. While such
experimenting is exploring new avenues, it underlines
the historicity of the lopapeysa concept itself.
41
Brownes participatory project, A Model Society, has
produced photographs, installations and publications.
In starting the work, Browne sought her participants
in Reykjavk, anyone who ever wanted to be a model,
by placing an ad for one of the major local newspapers,
Frttabladid, in both Icelandic and English. Following
initial contact, the respondents, males and females aged
between 5 and 85, were asked to complete a survey.
3
Together, the respondents formed a kind of virtual
community, maintained through correspondence via
email and a series of photoshoots.
For Browne, the work is focused on idealized
representations of the lopapeysa, in particular the
romanticized visual language of knitting pattern
photography that the work appropriates. Tese
representations serve to sentimentalise landscape as well
as interpersonal relationships, often promoting a myth of
the nuclear family.
4
In the heyday of hippies and ower-
power the lopapeysa seems to have signied something
deep to Icelanders, especially young people, some kind
of return to nature and simplicity.
5
Te photographs
that comprise A Model Society are deliberately taken in
such an idealized style, recapturing the nostalgia for the
relationships with nature and society characterizing the
1960s and 70s, a time when the lopapeysa was becoming
fashionable. Signicantly, one of Brownes participants
(Bjarnheidur Jhannesdttir) referred to the Icelandic
landscape as being like the skin of the Icelanders body:
attached and the largest organ.
Another important feature of the work is the participation
of the models in the text eventually knitted into the
sweater they eventually wear and pose in for the camera.
Te aim of the A Model Society project, the artist says, was
in some way to create a critical space in terms of how the
lopapeysa is usually represented, as part of a wholesome,
sentimentalised, even utopian identity, a space opened
up and articulated through the models participation,
interjecting discursive texts about the society that were
both positive and negative. Te extracted texts, 13 in
total, include Long Workhours, Rotten Politics, Safe Jobs/
High Taxes, Free Clean Water, and Exclusive Isolation.
While the responses are particular to Iceland, she
suggests, isolated from their context they have a general
quality, as if speaking of a model society.
Edward Farmer, Pedigree of One Family and its History of Asthma
in Eleven Generations courtesy of deCODE
A Model Society - A Model Genome
42
On another level, A Model Society can be read as a
commentary on the notion of model genomes in
contemporary biomedicine and the gene talk of many
national contexts, including Iceland: the ways in which
the signatures of the body (genomes with particular
ideal characteristics) signal essences and identities of
groups and individuals, conating somehow the inside
and the outside. A fragment of one of Brownes drawings
shows the means she used to calculate amount of stitches
in her knitting, how to place the text, what pattern repeat
to choose, and so on. [Some of these drawings are used as
the background images to this article]. In some ways, it
seems, her drawings relate to ideas of pattern and coding
in the mapping of the bodys contours and the sequencing
of DNA, keeping in mind the reference to the repeats
of patterns of four kinds of subunits - the chemical bases
of A, G, C, T - in discussions of the structure and change
of hereditary material. Te act of drawing, of outlining
and arranging repeats, also draws attention to ruptures
in established patterns, to genetic engineering, the
deliberate alteration and design of genetic structures. Not
only, then, does A Model Society underline the conation
of inside and outside, it also underlines the conation
of nature and culture, emphasizing human ddling with
the biomarkers of the individual, managing life itself .
Te exploration of the human genome is not simply
driven by fascination with the unknown, with exotic
landscapes and territories. It partly derives its momentum
from the desire to understand diseases and nd feasible,
marketable cures, in particular personalized medicine
geared to the genetic signatures of the individual
concerned. Established in 1996, deCODE genetics is one
of the important biotech companies on the scene. Based
in Reykjavk it uses the Icelandic genome and the wealth
of local historical records for the purpose of biomedical
research and drug development. Drawing upon the
presumed model genome of Icelanders, deCODE
genetics has focused on several diseases its best known
image, seen left, of the pedigree of asthma and its history
within one family, is used as the company logo.
6
Te genetic age has increasingly dened bodily signatures
in terms of DNA; thus, concepts such as genetic
citizenship seem pertinent now. Te new genetics has
redened the meaning of bodily signatures since now
they can be decoded and digitalized. Moreover, they
can be revised through biotechnology, including genetic
engineering. At the same time, bodily signatures have
become commodity, biovalue or biocapital in current
jargon. Te deCODE saga is too close by to miss the
point. Perhaps Brownes work reects the Icelandic idea
that Icelandicness, underlined in embodied scripts or
patterns, is unique and a valuable property.
7
Trough the ages Iceland has regularly been visited
by travellers, in particular shermen, and, likewise,
Icelanders have frequently explored the larger world, to
satisfy their curiosity or to look for work. Often genetic
mixing has ensued. Te North Atlantic Ocean does
not simply isolate the communities it surrounds, it also
connects - genomes as well as people and cultures. Also,
in the current era of globalization Iceland is increasingly
becoming a multicultural community. Tis is echoed in
Brownes work. Te participants in her project included
people who are Finnish, Icelandic-American, Spanish-
American, Spanish-American-Icelandic, from Bosnia
Herzegovina and Sri Lanka.
While people from dierent races and cultures
participated in the project, they were not sampled
deliberately to achieve this eect. Te racial/ethnic
mixing that happened was purely unintentional and
unanticipated, as Browne did not know peoples
country of origin, or in most cases even their appearance
(before she met them some people did send unsolicited
photographs). Peoples opinions (i.e. the survey and the
text) were the chief criteria for selection. Perhaps the
relatively high involvement of foreigners was partly
due to the fact that the advertisement was placed in
both English and Icelandic. Te use of English text in
the Icelandic context seems to have added something
of an internationalist perspective. Te eect of the
multicultural sample, nevertheless serves to complicate
and destabilize the discourse of purity or authenticity
that pervades the model genome debate as well as
debates surrounding national heritage, or the national
signature that the lopapeysa could potentially be.
43
Dermography
For medical scholars, the skin has often been presented
as the largest organ of the body. For social theorists, in
contrast, the skin is an archaeological record with a
series of temporal layers of social memory.
8
If the skin
is packed with social memory, dermography (from
the Greek derma, skin) is ethnography, an embodied
description of a way of life. In a sense, the skin serves
as an (auto)biographical source of information, saturated
with details about the bodys identity. Such a description
is not necessarily exact. A huge cosmetic industry seeks
to develop means for solving or hiding a whole range of
skin problems, rushes, acne, blackheads, etc., problems
which often seem to run much deeper, in the immune
system and the bodys responses to itself, other bodies,
and the rest of the environment. For some, focusing on
the skin is to succumb to visualism. For others, however,
the skin signies connectivity among people.
Birthmarks are some of the important signatures of
the skin and most people have one or more birthmarks.
Teir cultural reading, however, varies from case to case.
In some cultures, birthmarks represent a direct link to
the past, the ancestors, the population, nation, or ethnic
group, and the identity of the unique individual, much
like, in some theories, the modern notion of genetic
barcodes or ngerprints.
I have suggested that focusing on the Icelandic lopi
sweater Brownes work A Model Society can be seen as a
commentary on the fascination of the modern era with
model genomes and the ways in which they provide
promising but complex avenues into ancestral connections
and the mysteries of common diseases. Brownes project
seems to address a multiplicity of viewpoints and
identities that would complicate any idea of model
society and the compromises that would be necessary
to achieve such an ideal of constructed perfection. Given
such an interpretation, the lopi sweater is the second skin
of the Icelanders body, a fragile membrane between self
and society. By extension, its characteristic circular design
is the equivalent of the biomarkers of hereditary material,
underlining individual dierences as well as common
characteristics vis--vis other populations. While all
lopi sweaters are assumed to have something in common,
a family resemblance or a collective birthmark in a
metaphorical sense, no two lopi sweaters are completely
identical, especially if they are handmade. Te insertion of
text in Brownes sweaters, the rupture in patterns, serves
to make each sweater a unique combination, made to be
worn by one particular individual. Tus, it underlines
the idea of the individual birthmark, unique irregularities
in the genome that, nally (with the new genetics), are
both recognizable and subject to some form of human
control.
In Icelandic, the notion of stretching the lopi
metaphorically refers to an overly extended discussion,
the excessive repetition or unnecessary elaboration of
an argument, often in the negative sense as in simply
stretching the lopi (bara ad teygja lopann). At the risk of
some stretching, I conclude by saying that I hope my
discussion has illuminated some aspects of the A Model
Society project, drawing attention to the rhizomic threads
of lopi beyond the surface appearance of orderly patterns
as well as some of the complications of modelling
genomes and societies. Stretching the lopi, after all, may
have quite important functions, in particular maintaining
communion under the immanent threat of silence or
misunderstanding. Much like, perhaps, the junk DNA
of our genome.
References:
1
McGregor, Sheila (1984). Traditional Scandinavian Knitting. Batsford: London.
2
Strachan, Tom and Andrew P. Read (1999). Molecular Genetics. Second edition. Oxford: BIOS Scientic
Publishers.
3
Browne, Sarah (2005-2006). A Model Society: Social Fabric. Unpublished survey.
4
Browne, Sarah, personal communication.
5
Jnsson, rn D. (2006). Ull verdur? Tilurd og fall slensku lopapeysunnar (Wool Becomes? Te Rise and Fall
of the Icelandic Lopi Sweater). Unpublished paper.
6
deCODE genetics was surrounded by controversy due to its plans for a national Health Sector Database on
Icelanders, in order to exploit the relatively homogeneous Icelandic genome and the wealth of local historical
records for the purpose of biomedical research. While the company operates in Iceland, it was funded by venture-
capital funds co-ordinated in the United States. deCODE genetics soon strengthened its nancial position
through a business arrangement with the pharmaceutical giant Homann-LaRoche. Te central idea of the
database project, and the source of much of the controversy around it, was the assembly of medical records for
the entire population. After nine months of national debate, in December 1998 the Icelandic Parliament passed
a bill authorizing the construction of the database.
7
It would be fair to say that when the artist and I began talking about this she hadnt thought of the
connection. Te question remains, if the artist hadnt thought of some of these connections, does it mean that I
am forcing them (much like structuralists sometimes have done to primitive myth) or does it mean that deep
down the thought is there. And that art is subconsciously reecting something profound?
8
Connor, Steven (2004). Te Book of Skin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
44
Gsli Plsson is Professor of Anthropology at University of
Reykjavik, Iceland.
These Days Are Ours
FanWriter WV
October 1974
Well, there it was. Except for the name change, Arnolds looked almost exactly the
same. Richard and Lori Cunningham held hands as they walked into the restaurant,
their eyes momentarily lost on memories.
Te place was still doing well. Te waitress, who didnt recognize them and who
was far too young to have been working at the original Arnolds, gave them a table.
Nobody was dancing like they used to in the old days; this was a grownups place
now, part of a national chain. It still had a jukebox, thoughplaying John Denver
instead of Buddy Holly.
Do you think the others will come? Lori asked, hopefully. I know Ralph has his
practice in Illinois, but I was really looking forward to seeing Potsie, and Joanie and
Chachi again.
Richie stroked his moustache. Joanie and Chachi are in L.A. recording a new
album. Tey said theyd try to make it if they could. He leaned back in his seat.
Man, there are times when I wish we could just turn back the clock. So much has
happened over the last ten years...we really were part of a more innocent time,
werent we?
Well, we all had to move on. I know how much you wanted to come back to
Milwaukee after you got back from Vietnam...
I was a dierent person then. I was still trying to make sense of things. It seems
kind of silly now, I know.
No, Richie; you wanted safety and normality again. Everybody did at that point.
Especially after what happened with Fonzie...
Richie suddenly felt uncomfortable. Maybe we should pay him a visit after we
leave. I think hed like that. His last letter sounded like he needed a familiar face.
Im sorry, honey, Lori said. I didnt mean to...
No, its OK. Its just...sometimes I still cant believe what happened. I mean, he
was always the toughest, coolest guy I ever knew.
I know. Lori looked down. But even he had his breaking point.
Richie looked over at the jukebox, wondering what Fonzie would have made of
the disco music coming out of it now. Would he have simply rapped it to change the
tune? But he didnt see the Fonz of old standing thereonly the one with the lost
look on his face, the man whod been taken away in handcus exactly ve years ago
today. Te man he still thought of as his best friend, even though he couldnt deny
that his former hero had lost his mind and now spent his days in an institution.
Why couldnt I have seen it coming? Richie thought to himself. He of all people
should have seen the stress building up in the Fonz, but Arthur Fonzarelli had
always managed to hide it so well with a shrug and an Aaaaay! Ten his cousin
Roger had tried to lift his spirits by getting him a date with a woman who was much
like Ashley right before Richie went to Vietnam as a lieutenant...and then...
45
Richie had gotten the news during his second tour in Vietnam. After the shock
had worn o came the questions. Were they sure it was him? Tey had to have
made some kind of a mistake. It wasnt possible. But the evidence in Fonzies
apartment was there in all its horric detail. Fonzie, the man who had once been
the king of cool, had always had a hard time adapting to change. Even becoming
a teacher at Jeerson High couldnt keep him from doing the old thumbsup or
wearing his familiar leather jacket, which by 1969 was as out of style as ducktail
haircuts. In the years following Joanie and Chachis wedding the world had
turned upside down. Te Fonz had struggled to stay right side up, but had seen it
all slipping away from him. Tat was what had done itthat was what had driven
him over the edge and lash out at the nearest targetsRoger and his would-be
girlfriend. Roger had survived that devastating encounter. Te girl who had
reminded everybody of Ashley-and reminded Fonzie of her too muchdidnt.
Richies darkening thoughts were interrupted by a cheerful, Look whos back!
Richie and Lori stood up and exchanged hugs and handshakes with two of the
next most important people in their lives. Ralph Malph, looking distinguished
with his beard and Warren Potsie Webber still with boyish looks, cracked jokes
and told stories about the old days while they ate. Finally, the subject turned back
to the Fonz.
Yeah, Ive been thinking about that, too. Ralph nodded. Te hospitals not too
far from here; maybe we should pay him a visit.
Is that really such a good ideaI mean, all of us at once? We all testied for the
prosecution at his trial.
Ill see him rst. Richie had nished eating and got out his checkbook. I owe
him that much. In spite of what happened, before he...snapped, he really did
teach me everything about life, girls, being cool...
He taught all of us, Potsie added. Nobody can take that away from him.
Ralph stood up, holding a glass. To Fonzie...the one we knew.
Tey all raised their glasses. To the Fonz, they said in unison.
Happy Days was American television sitcom set in the fties (as distinct from the
1950s) that originally aired between 1974 and 1984. FanWriter WV is an anonymous
fan ction writer. Reproduced from www.fanction.net
46
Sarah I rst came across your work at the
Ralahine Centre for Utopian Studies in 2005,
when I was researching a short series of articles,
published in the Visual Artists Newsheet,
which related to contemporary arts ongoing
relationship with utopia. Could you tell me a
little about what the centre is and does?
Possible
Memories
A telephone conversation
in March 2008
Tom I came here in 2002, and there was nothing,
I just started it. And theres a really good
international group of utopian scholars, who
kind of segue into being utopian practitioners,
either politically or artistically, like there are
many people who are part of communes or
people in the kibbutz movement. So the utopian
meetings we have, like in North America, and
were hosting the one here in July, theyre pretty
utopian events anyway. People are just decent
to each other, its not like the usual academic
conferences.
So we started, did a few seminars, and now
theres a core group of us, maybe ve or six of us.
We do a book series, we do the conference, we do
a couple of workshops every year. And its very
connected, particularly with Italy, with Bologna,
also Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Alaska... theres a
really interesting international network.
Sarah I came back to your work when I
was working on this project in Iceland,
A Model Society, which generated a
series of photographs with people living
there. Te photographs appropriated the
utopian/ nostalgic form of knitting pattern
photography, but inserted new messages
within it commentary by the participants
(models) about Icelandic society... ranging
from rotten politics to awesome daycare to
exclusive isolation. Tese slogans, authored
by the participants, were knitted into their
sweaters. Anyway, I became really interested
in the history of nostalgia, and how it rubs
up against ideas about utopia. Svetlana
Boym has suggested that the twentieth
century is bookended with utopianism at its
origins, and nostalgia at its close... linked to
the modernist project, really.
Tom Yeah, I met her years ago, when she was a
postgrad actually.
Sarah I was hopeful about her idea that nostalgia
can be a space for refection and critique, as well
as, or more than, the popular idea of nostalgia as
a form of escape. Something you fall into.
Tom Well, theres some connected things. You
know Luke Gibbons work? Hes done a book
called Transformations in Irish Culture, and in
that book, I forget where, but its in there, he
doesnt talk about nostalgia, but he talks about
tradition. And he uses it in a similar way, that
tradition gets misunderstood or seen negatively
like nostalgia but in actuality, in a society
of the hyper modern, tradition can be a place
for certain utopian impulses, and transformative
values.
And then, Vince Geoghegan, whos in Belfast,
hes got a classic essay on memory and utopia,
thats the key one that connects these. He goes
back to Ernst Bloch, the utopian philosopher, and
he works with Blochs two notions of memory:
theres an agneresis memory and an amnesis
memory. Basically, theres a backward-looking
memory and a forward-looking memory... theres
a memory which keeps us captive in the past
its like picking a scab, were constantly going
back to the memory, and going back, and going
back, and it never goes anywhere... its indulgent
and its like the older notion of nostalgia. But
then theres this forward notion of memory,
that takes the memory, and uses it as a sign of
hope, that as things were, so they might be. Tat
essay is in a book I edited with Jamie Daniel,
titled Not Yet, Reconsidering Ernst Bloch, and its
sort of the main essay that everyone cites when
theyre doing this kind of stu.
So, given these two senses of backward-looking
and forward looking, I can see where nostalgia
would t in. I mean, in a sense, William Morris
novel, News for Nowhere, do you know it?
47
Tom Oh? I dont know that at all.
Sarah Te dozen are all played by Dutch
actors, speaking English with approximations
of American accents... so there is this sense of
translation in place and in time, and a lack of
cohesion about the solidity of the past, or the
present, maybe. Re-enactment is becoming
almost a trope in contemporary art practice... I
guess it relates to the appropriation tradition of
the found object, that is maybe now a found
text. It seems that (in some cases) it could be
like Marxs idea of wearing the costumes of great
moments of the past, where artists are looking to
the past to imagine the future...
Tom Tats it, thats it exactly.
Sarah and it tends to be quite a recent past as
well... so theres quite a lot of work that might
refer to social or political moments in the sixties
or seventies, maybe revolutions that were not
fully realised. Tere was a show in Project Arts
Centre a few years ago called Communism where
artists were asked to consider the word and to
make a new work in response to it...
Tom Well in the culture, and the economy, that
we live in, it erases the past. It erases memory
as fast as it possibly can, so holding on to even a
near memory can be subversive.
Sarah Im interested in science ction, and how
even though its typically seen as a low or popular
cultural form, it can contain the seeds of subversion
or progressive social thought?
Tom Very much so. For one thing, thats where
utopia nds its home in the twentieth century.
You nd more utopian writing in science ction
than anywhere else, it just sort of suited it to
look ahead. But what happened in the 1950s, in
terms of it not being seen as subversive... there
was a great sci novel from 1952 called Space
Merchants.
Sarah Teres something interesting in
contemporary art practice too, where a lot of
artists are re-enacting either specic artworks,
other political or cultural texts, or moments from
popular culture. Gerard Byrne is an artist who
made a work called 1984 and Beyond, which is a
restaging of a 1963 series of Playboy interviews
with 12 leading science-ction writers Isaac
Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke,
Robert Heinlein. Te sci- writers are asked to
make predictions for the period between 1984
and 2000.
Sarah Tats fascinating.
Sarah Yes, though I havent read it.
Tom He has a utopia though its essentially
a utopia based on the old communal way of
living.
Sarah Its based on medievalism, isnt it?
Tom Tats it. Its based on the medieval
communal society. So you could argue that
thats a form of nostalgia too, using it as a way to
imagine a future.
48
Sarah Okay...
Tom And its an absolute indictment of the
advertising industry, and of modern consumer
capitalism, and also of McCarthyism, being in
1952. But, you know, Mc Carthy and all the
others, they went after Hollywood, and they
went after teachers, they went after comic books,
but they completely ignored science ction. And
there was a whole generation of people, reading
that stu in the fties, who then came of age
in the sixties, and I would count myself among
them. But there was a lot of political science
ction that nobody even blinked at it.
Tom Because it was popular culture, it
bypassed the censors.
Sarah Something Im really interested in, as a
parallel to this idea of re-enactment in art, is the
(amateur) production of fan ction literature...
I was wondering, as a professor of comparative
literature, if you had any thoughts on this?
Tom Sure. Do you know the Slash or the
Chaos ction? Teres a whole fan genre of
Kirk/Spock ction. It actually started in
lesbian culture, and its kind sort of spread.
Its basically sexual fantasies about Kirk and
Spock, it starts from there and transforms
into very extended narratives and turns into
long storylines... A popular form like Star
Trek is taken and re-written by fans.
Sarah And do you think theres any... critical
value in that?
Tom Oh, I think so. In the sense of it being a
found object, like you mentioned before, in the
sense of taking whats there in a media that aims
for the erasure of memory... and using that as the
grammar of critical thinking. So you dont need
outside ideas, you can use your own culture, and
rebuild your own culture, but do it critically. So
in that sense, I think it could be argued there is a
utopian impulse. Bloch I think would see it that
way... he always talks about a utopian surplus,
that theres a little kernel of hope within things
that is expressed when people work creatively.
Reading Bloch is like listening to jazz, just like
one, big, long... ri, on hope and possibility.
Tom Moylan is Glucksman Professor of Contemporary Writing in
English and Director of the Ralahine Center for Utopian Studies at
the University of Limerick. He is the author of Demand the Impossible:
Science Fiction and the Utopian Imagination; Scraps of the Untainted Sky:
Science Fiction, Utopia, Dystopia; and numerous essays. His research
interests focus on utopian theory, expression, and political practice;
science ction; and the processes of socio-political critique and
change.
Sarah Browne is an artist based in Ireland. Her practice examines
macro social structures through engaging with micro audiences.
She is interested in forming social contracts that address the idea of
popular culture acting as a surrogate for political participation, and
the mediation of individual desires within collective experience. She
produces participatory projects, sculpture, video and photography,
publications, and critical writing.
49
Your Politics Has Turned You Into Sheep, drawing seen on New York subway, 2006
50
51
A Model Society is a project and publication produced by Sarah Browne.
Te project was originally commissioned by Site-ations International in 2006
and received further funding from the Arts Council of Ireland.
Tis publication has received support from Leitrim County Arts Oce.
Designed by Pure Designs
www.puredesigns.ie
Printed by GPS Colour Graphics Ltd
Published in 2008 by cottagelab
ISBN 978-0-9554976-3-6
Images and patterns copyright 2008 Sarah Browne
Texts copyright the individual authors
Special thanks to all the project participants, Rosa Sigrn Jnsdttir,
Gsli Plsson, Tom Moylan, Gareth Kennedy and the
Association of Reykjavik Sculptors.
www.sarahbrowne.info
Models in A Model Society
ris Arnardttir
Vesna Jesic Danelsson
Bjarni Grndal
Nalini Grndal
Elisabet Osp Gumundsdttir
Valey Sl Gumundsdttir
Vignir Tor Gumundsson
Margret Huldrunardttir
Sdis Jhannesdttir
Rosa Sigrn Jnsdttir
Hinn Jnsson
Viar Jnsson
Arna Bra Karlsdttir
sta Karen lafsdttir
Hrafnildur Sigurardttir
Hildur Skladttir
Jaakko Terguje
Ana Saeds Jesic Trsdttir
Dolores Rs Valencia Walters
Jayden Isabelle Walters
Tis is number of an edition of 300
52
ISBN 978-0-9554976-3-6
sarah browne