Textiles become circuits in "the embroidered computer"

<img alt = "The embroidered computer" data-caption = "The embroidered computer" data-credit = "Ebru Kurbak / Irene Posch" data-credit-link-back = "" data-dam-provider = "" data-local-id = "local -2-6231834-1552854949342" data-media-id = "8cd094d4-0f4f-479a-85dc-be16bee51c90" data-original-url = "https: //s.yimg. com / os / creatr-uploaded-images / 2019 -03 / 15e2b570-48f4-11e9-827f-8e61834c29a0 "data-title =" The Embroidered Computer "src =" https://o.aolcdn.com/images / dims? resize = 2000% 2C2000% 2Cshrink & image_uri = https% 3A% 2F.

The embroidered computer has switchable relays like those used in mainframes before the arrival of semiconductors. Although they are not so fast, one must admit that they look much colder in operation (above).

The dominant material is gold, used for its highly conductive properties, arranged in patterns to form the logic of a simple 8-bit computer. "Traditionally purely decorative, their motive defines the function here," wrote the artists. "They set up naked digital routines, usually hidden in black boxes, and users are invited to interact with the object to program the textile on a computer."

While the work highlights the hidden beauty of the programmed circuits, it also makes functional a decorative object. The play imagines a timeline where computers were developed by craftsmen, rather than engineers, using old methods and skills. "By its mere existence, it conjures up one of the many imaginable alternative stories of computer technology and plausible alternative stories to our current everyday life," Kurbak and Posch said.

It is an ironic reversal, as the Jacquard loom, which was invented in 1804, used a crude electromechanical computer powered by punch cards to weave intricate patterns. This then inspired Charles Babbage in creating the badysis engine, essentially the first versatile computer. "The badytical engine weaves algebraic patterns, just like the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves," said Ada Lovelace, pioneer of computer and contemporary technologies at Babbage.