Kate Just, A Sign of the Times: A knitted translation of Jeremy Deller, More Poetry is Needed, 2014, a public billboard in Quadrant Shopping Centre, Swansea Wales UK (2026)
Hand knitted acrylic yarn, timber, canvas
51 x 71 x 2.5cm
Artist Jeremy Deller’s 2014 More Poetry is Needed billboard was installed on large wall to the rear of Quadrant Shopping Centre in Swansea, Wales, UK.
Greeting visitors to the city centre, it has been photographed and talked about by many people travelling in and out of the city centre. Deller’s artwork was commissioned as part of a Dylan Thomas 100 project in 2014. (Dylan Thomas 100 celebrated 100 years since poet Dylan Thomas’s birth in 1914). I included this work by Deller as I believe it to true that more poetry and art is always needed! Poetry has deeply touched me, reaffirmed my connection to my heart, soul and humanity (and that of others) and shown me the many ways a collection of words on a page can change hearts and minds and inspire real social change.
Kate Just is a queer, feminist artist of Polish, Irish, German and Scottish descent (born USA, migrated to Australia 1996) best known for her inventive and political use of knitting. In addition to her solo practice, Just often works socially and collaboratively within communities to create large scale, public or textile-based art projects that tackle significant social issues including gender-based violence, reproductive freedom, LGBTQIA rights and political protest. Kate Just holds a PhD in Sculpture (Monash University), an MA (RMIT), and a BFA from University of Melbourne, where she is a Senior Lecturer in Art. She has exhibited extensively across Australia including at the NGA, ACCA, Heide, Gertrude Contemporary and CCP. Internationally she has exhibited at AIR Gallery (New York, USA), ICA (Richmond, Virginia, USA), the Rijswijk Museum (the Netherlands), Auckland Art Fair (NZ), Kunsthalle Krems (Austria), Sanskriti Gallery (India), Youkobo Artspace (Japan), Contextile Biennale (Portugal) and SUWON Museum of Art (South Korea). Just’s work is held in collections nationally and internationally including Just's work is held in public and private collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, the National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the City of Port Phillip, Wangaratta Art Gallery, Textile Art Museum of Australia (TAMA), The Sheila Foundation and Proclaim Management Collection.
Kate Just is represented by Hugo Michell Gallery in Adelaide.
