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Portal: 47 (h) x 40 (w) x 3.5 (d)in
carbon steel, jacquard weaving, integrated arduino technologies, cell phone activated light sensor, jacquard woven textile, sound media
The portal piece for, ‘It came from outer space; a constellation of thoughts’ takes a round form, outlined in steel with an interior displaying a TC2 woven image of an asteroid taken from NASA. The woven pattern of the asteroids mimics a constellation space-like image placed in the circular structure resembling a telescopic view into another dimension. Asteroids are known to carry minerals such as gold, iridium, and cobalt to earth. Cobalt and Iridium have linkings to metals used to power our cellphones, laptops and other technologies that we use daily. Iridium is used in a constellation of industries including military and scientific technologies; space exploration and dedicated gateway communications such as satellites and compass bearings. A mineral, important to note, with a value that continues to increase at a rapid pace due to technological advancements.
Integrated sensors, when triggered by cell phone’s lights, activate a recording of Sylvie’s voice that states in French (the original language it was recorded in), “ “On parle d’Haiti quoi, j’entends l’espoir de temps en temps, c’est pas évident.”
Glitched in the portal, her broadcast plays on loop upon activation. Here I question, how can fiber, a material that already carries such rich stories become an activated portal when coupled with technology to further archive Black stories through time and space? Further, how can data be translated from a ledger and the qualitative experience I witnessed, to one that takes on participatory and sculptural elements to think about the displacement of people and its links to technology? For a time, Sylvie who continuously lives in exile is here …with us. Asking us to remember Haiti.