In an area well-known for its community actions and spontaneous outbreaks of street art, the past few weeks have seen the yarn bombing of nearly 40 bollards positioned on Praga’s Kawęczyńska street.
Photo: Sylwester Klimiuk
Led by an NGO called The Michałów Society (Praskie Stowarzyszenie Mieszkańców “Michałów”), the action began last year when a diverse range of locals volunteered to knit covers during online workshops conducted at the peak of the lockdown.
Photo: Sylwester Klimiuk
Premiering at the start of summer, the patterns included a winged angels and smiley faces, not to mention cheeky gnomes, pizza wedges and top-hat touting witch.
Photo: Sylwester Klimiuk
Temporarily removed in mid-June to allow for repairs to the tramline, the colorful installations have now returned and are again thrilling the public as Warsaw’s most unlikely and ‘Instagramable’ attraction.
Photo: Sylwester Klimiuk
What Is It!?
Oft-described as a sub-genre of street art, yarn bombing originated in the States when – according to some sources – a group of Texas knitters sought to find a creative way to get shot of their leftover materials: hey presto, yarn bombing was born.
Photo: Sylwester Klimiuk
Sometimes dubbed ‘graffiti knitting’, the practice will typically see street furniture or installations covered in crocheted patterns.
Photo: Sylwester Klimiuk
Something of a global phenomenon, some of the more famous examples include the yarn bombing of a tank outside Dresden’s Military Museum, the covering of Pittsburgh’s Warhol Bridge, as well as the knitted blanketing of the Wall Street bull by the Polish artist Olek.
(All photos: Sylwester Klimiuk)
