95. 2 x 39.3 x 4.16 Ø in
Linen, cotton, brass / 7.9 x 3.2 ft (20r)
During the pandemic, I set myself to process the complexity of the emotions I was feeling in considering what was occurring to black life globally. Loss, the fragility of mental health, the violence, the pain. The invisibility and lack of care towards black life. The constant data and narratives presented offered little solace to the constant chaos mirrored back to me on all platforms. I questioned: how does one cope with life and the living within the given matrix that continues to be oppressively omnipresent?
Reprogramming my thoughts, I began looking inwards to shift and redefine the equation.
The loom is said to be the first computer. Using the loom as my primary tool in the creation of this work, I attempt to compute answers to the presented problem. Rather than using archival data as I had done in Data Studies 1.1, this work was woven over the course of the year, almost daily, tracking my complex emotions and feelings of daily Black life. What started as coping ended in something else. Through the daily repetitive sessions, my emotions shifted. By the time I was done tracking my ‘data’, I wanted to crown these feelings.
Internal Algorithms serves as a portal to remind oneself of the internal knowledge and knowingness of the Black majestic. The piece stands over 7ft tall, with a rhythmic monochromatic palette inviting the viewer to pause and take in the linear transitions and transformations through the ever-changing tessellations. Coiled and hidden messages can be found throughout the piece relating to time and history. As movement occurs, it invites a sort of ritual to revolutionize the participant by reminding them of who they are and the power that they have (and have always had within oneself).