THREAD NARRATIVES
2011
Hair, speaker, computer, program
Thread Narratives is an interactive installation that consists of a shelf with a Bluetooth speaker on it and a 1.5m (1.64 yards) by 2m (2.18 yards) hammock made with artificial hair. The hammock is floating in space. The bluetooth speaker has in its contour infra red lights which are detected and tracked by ceiling mounted cameras. The audience is invited to grab the speaker which produces a soft heart pulsation, generated by layers of diverse sounds emitted from sewing machines and mass production in textile factories. When the speaker is moved above the hammock it triggers different heart beats depending on its location; the speaker listens to the hammock's vibrations. Distance affects the volume, a closer union intensifies the pitch tone.
This installation explores the hand made and the mass production systems in Mexico and United States. It also seeks, exposes and explores tensions among interactivity, gravity, sounds and thread contexts within visible and invisible connections. The relation between sound and thread joins the visualization of time, action, and daily textile environments. Hair and hammocks are processes that are inserted in daily contexts. In Mexico hammocks play an important role in history and heritage, crocheting interconnections with communities around the world.