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Research. Handmade Data and Textile Codes
Textiles, historically, were “instruments of communication,” Jeff Donaldson — better known by his pseudonym “Glitchaus”. Colombia. Tropas, 1518.
During African Americans slavery times in Latin America. Slaves created “tropas”, a braided hair style to hide their scape maps. Local women use to make braids in small kids hair so then when some slave was coming running away can read the hide maps represented in the hair.
Colombia. Wayuu Bags, 1600 – 2018.
Regarding textile codes we can fine an example in Wayúu bags. During their first menstrual period Wayúu women are isolated in order to start learning from their older women family members how to create ancestral bags. In these pieces women represent their worldview as a collective and also their personal dreams and interests in graphic “codes”.
These textile codes are charged with meaning and symbolism. Wayúu symbols are called Kaanás, which translates to “the art of weaving drawings” which represent nature elements. The designs are characterized by geometric compositions, which are repeated in sequences creating patterns.
Mochilas Wayuu, Mochila Wayuu 2
Germany. World War I, 1914-1918.
During World War I and II women under cover as simple knitters started a new data infiltration tool thru their creations under the principle of binary and morse code. Knitting is a combination of two simple “dots”; knit stitch and purl stitch. “Spies have been known to work code messages into knitting, embroidery, hooked rugs, etc,”
The message was a form of steganography, a way to hide a message physically. “At the centre of this practice is the instrumentalisation of the innocent to evade surveillance, censorship and control”.
Phyllis Latour Doyle was a secret agent who started this practice during Second World War, she confessed that she was always wearing some knitted clothes where she use to hide a pice of silk with some secret messages.
Chile. Military Dictatorship, 1973-1990.
In an explicit way and also under a violent political regimen we find chilean “Arpilleras”, a group of women supported by International Peace and Catholic Organizations who thru embroidered pieces represent scenes of hardship and violence that many of them experienced during the dictatorship due to impoverished living conditions, government repression and the kidnapping of their sons and husbands by Augusto Pinochet.
Arpilleras are currently recognized as an example of subversive women’s art in an authoritarian political context.
Beijing, China. URBAN CARPET, 2011.
“Carpets are representing different maps of Hutong areas in downtown Beijing with a size of approximately one square kilometre and a population of 30000. Each of them has been isolated and presented as autonomous town within the big city. They are embroidered by hand with the same technique of the propaganda slogans on large fabrics used by the communist party during the seventies. The carpets have been filled with white wire wool insertions”
UK. ILOVEYOU by Glitch House, 2016.
The artist Jeff Donaldson found his textile patterns inspiration in the computer worm ILOVEYOU which began spreading in the world 18 years ago.
Originating in the Philippines, the virus tricked its victims into opening an email attachment with the filename “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs.” Once infected, the victim spammed their email contacts —a chain reaction that led to tens of millions of infected computers around the world. It caused a staggering $15 billion (£12 billion) in damage
He represent the “Glitch” and computer viruses aesthetics in knitted textures and printed clothes, spreading the virus with a new support.
There’s also Melissa, a notorious virus from 1999 that spread via email.
Knitting in Code
China. Lost in Translation by Amy Suo Wu, 2018.
Hutong Whispers it’s a contemporary art project by Amy Suo Wu where using new technologies like QR codes she experiment with the process of sharing data thru hanging laundry clothes in public spaces .
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