This piece is part a sculptural object, and part a performance work. A Calchaquí loom was used to knit a long piece of textile were electronic components to play and record sounds were embedded into. Spectators of the performance were invited to sit next the artist and to knit together with him. The conversations that ensued were recorded – literally “knitted into the piece” – and later played back when the performance was over.
This type of loom was used by the Calchaquí people, aboriginal inhabitants of the Andean region of South America. Perceiving myself simultaneously alien and related to these cultures, I used the loom as a device to question my own identity and perceptions of time. Different layers of meaning were constructed by meshing together traditional crafting techniques with electronic devices: identity and alienation, gender roles and stereotypes, multiplicity of perceptions (visual, auditive, tactile), technology and craft.