Melting the Machine
With "Melting the Machine," I wanted to explore the relationship between technology, weaving, and gender. The title of Melting the Machine is in reference to gender fluidity and the inherent binary-ness of technology.
Gender identity is something I've been exploring within myself for the past few years. The middle piece represents gender queerness and my own identity as I see it, relating to topics I explored with gender representation in technology. Being someone assigned female at birth, I feel close to the history of women in tech. They are under appreciated in a field that seeks to binarize everything. I think about the parallel between computer binary and gender binary. I feel I am so much more than someone destined to work like a machine with the machines, and I feel I am so much more than any definition of gender.
I took inspiration from academic articles describing the history of gender and technology, with topics such as the women behind the Apollo missions, and gendered technology products. The Apollo missions ulilized one of the first portable computers, the memory of which was weaved by hand by a team of women known as the "Little Old Ladies" because of the nimbleness of hand required to do this work. This connects to gender stereotypes while also showing an example of women in technology not getting the recognition they deserve. Gendered products were also explored in an essay that inspired this piece, and the way gendered marketing created and upheld gender stereotypes relating to technology that are still present today. The weaving on the left represents female work and stereotypes in technology, accompanied by poetry about such. (Poetry can be seen typed out below photos) The right hand piece represents the male counterpart.
I would love to show this work in a gallery, please contact me if you are an art curator or gallery owner and interested in this piece.
The Poetry:
The Feminine:
nimble hands and quiet mouths
seen and not heard, and now neither
pulling the strings of memory
data that strong arms create and she seals the fate
all except her own opus, present but invisible
like her nimble hands
these same hands hold razors
pink means hold it delicately
disconnect her from technology
that which she invents
connect her to company trajectory
strip her til she's nothing but frivelous cosumerism
The Fluid:
maybe one day i can be more than just a future headline
"Genderfluid Artist (What's That?) Creates Exhibit for Museum"
but for now i will just be me
because i am more than the history of people with my body
i am combinations, i am amalgamations
im a superhero made of the powers of the afab people predescesing me,
but infused with the forces of individuality in my own mind and manifestation
i am segmented like insects and curved like petals
i am naturally occurring
unlike the technology that dictates the perception of my body
and i am everpresent
The Masculine:
cut him, he can take it
for he is the master of all things
at least on the outside
razor sharp edges and straight lines define
fly like an aeroplane and lead the way
hear the loud hum of the machinery
road is paved by theivery
second to the finish line but first in the books
wearing the hair like a badge of privilege
to crop is not a must but an option
hairy like a primitive hunter
take down the beast with blood and pride
with today's industrial monster
take your title with blood and pride
