Last year, several new pieces of knitted and crocheted artwork popped up on London's streets. Each of them had their own little positive message, such as "do it!", "stop worrying", and "don't hesitate", and each one has been lovingly created by artist 8Arms2Hug (Swenja Norhausen) and features a colourful octopus. The artist is a lover of the ocean and part of a no hate group in London, and she recently had a show "beware of the kraken" featuring her work. These little octopuses brought a smile to my face with their positive energy and encouragement.
The artwork is known as "love bomb" and has become popular over the world. 8arms2hug is a "fibre artist", and the artwork she creates with the octopuses are miniature knitted aquariums. Based between London and Cologne, visitors will probably find several examples of her work in both cities.
This movement of "love bombing" is similar to the take on yarn-bombing, where artists knit street furniture, statues, and other items in public to make it more colourful. It goes to show that street art can be any medium; it isn't limited to just paint, and I've covered tiles, plastic toys, plaster, string, and yarn on this blog previously.
I noticed a few new ones earlier this year as well, but many of them do not have the background and are just knitted octopuses with the positive messages to viewers. I've photographed many of them, but let me know if you have seen any that I don't have on this post.
Leave a comment