Crocheted Alligator Playground by Olek

Crocheted Alligator Playground by Olek, born in Poland as Agata Oleksiak in 1978. Now Brooklyn-based artist Olek is the author of her latest work “Crocheted Jacar”. The beautiful young artist traveled to Brazil for the 2012 SESC Arts Show in order to encase a massive playground shaped like an alligator. With the help of several colleagues Olek covered the reptilian play-scape in North Carolinian acrylic yarn and Brazilian ribbons over a period of several weeks. The SESC show runs through July 29th and you can see much more of Olek’s work on her website agataolek.com.

Meanwhile, the artist explains, “A loop after a loop”. Hour after hour my madness becomes crochet. According to her, Life and art are inseparable. She crochets everything that enters her space. Sometimes it’s a text message, a medical report, found objects. There is the unraveling, the ephemeral part of her work that never lets her forget about the limited life of the art object and art concept.

However, her work changes from place to place. Her goal is to produce new work and share it with the public.

exhibited in galleries, museums and public spaces worldwide, Olek’s work appeared in numerous publications. In particular, TIME Magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Newsweek/Daily Beast, Village Voice, Artinfo, PBS, CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC. Besides, she is the recipient of the Ruth Mellon Award for sculpture in 2004, In Situ Artaq award (France) in 2011, and a grant in 2011 from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) for performance in public space.

Crocheted Alligator Playground by Olek