Who sets the ground rules?

Inspired by hop scotch games and chalk doodles on the playground, this ongoing installation project is comprised of a large chalk drawing of a vintage crochet pattern pulled from my family’s pattern library.

Crochet patterns, especially in rural America, were used to bind communities together through recurring symbols and motifs, oftentimes reinforcing the systems in power. Who sets the ground rules? asks us to negotiate with those everyday patterns and norms that have unseen influence on how we interact with society, even if they are as innocuous as a crochet doily. Through the chalk pattern, the ground becomes a contested location where walkers are negotiating their role in a larger socio-cultural-political space. Each step smudges, smears, and changes the ground rules.

The first rendition of this work was installed at the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore in July 2023, but has since been exhibited in cities across the globe from Glasgow to Miami. Each new installation taps into a local audience and is reimagined into new contexts.