Quantified Epopee is a research project about new modes of narration in contemporary tapestry. The project questions the conditions of narration, in the context of the evolution of the textile craftsmanship world and its inclusion in the digital age.
Quantified Epopee is renewing a form of craftsmanship by restoring the use of gold and metals in tapestries. The Coriolanus, woven at the request of Henry IV before 1606, is a fine example of the use of gold to enhance tapestries. Valuing the cultural heritage of this institution, the reuse of these conductive materials in weaving increases the narrative possibilities of tapestries. They become tactile interfaces, sensitive to touch and approach, that interact with the spectators.
As a research project, Quantified Epopee explores different hypotheses that result from each series of experiments in a physical or theoretical production presented at exhibitions or conferences.
UN GRAMME CHEVALRESQUE
The piece Un Gramme Chevaleresque, is a hanging that narrates the digital quest of a contemporary knight, a French soldier on a mission. Made using a hijacked and computer-controlled knitting machine, the tapestry reveals an iconography from the collection made on the soldier’s personal social networks.
In the background, the flowery filter of his Snapchat selfies mingle with the military lattices of his daily life. His movements, located by tracking his Facebook posts, are represented by GPS coordinates and a track. His posts, issued from the training grounds where his regiment practiced, were often accompanied by images depicting him proudly brandishing heavy weapons; machine guns punctuated the hanging.
Brides, this first speculative piece made in 2016, reveals artifacts from an ancient era of digital know-how. These relics, discovered during an archaeological excavation that is said to have taken place in the future, release sound fragments as the hand approaches.
IN PROGRESS
Research on data integration in textiles. Radio-identification or RFID is the method used here to store and retrieve data remotely.
