The act of hand-weaving is transferable. A cloth’s construction can be reverse-engineered, threading plans and weave structures can be copied, and the weaver can replicate their motions. Running as an undercurrent to this is a sequence of emotional experiences which are not transferable due to their internalised nature. These experiences are embedded within the process of weaving. They are the sum of many parts: the shifting of weight on the bench, the creaking of the loom, the rhythm of breath, the pauses for cups of tea, background chatter, and silent contemplation. These moments are embedded in the final cloth unnoticeable to all except the weaver.

Velvet Values is a three-year artistic research project which seeks to bridge this separation between act and process by merging heritage hand-weaving velvet techniques with digitisation methods and conductive fibres to create new velvet sensor cloth, tracking the internalised experience of the weaver throughout an extended process and sharing the unseen patterns hidden within the folds of woven cloth. This work is a presentation of the first samples of velvet sensor cloth. By replacing traditional silk with silver and stainless steel and tracking the experience of the weaver throughout the velvet-weaving process, these stroked sensors respond to human interaction to communicate the slow, tactile, intimate knowledge intertwined into their creation.

Velvet Values is a three-year artistic research project by Emma Wood which is part of the DiGiTal Programme, and is funded by the Berliner Chancengleichheitsprogramme (BCP).

Publications:

Wood, E. (2023). Velvet Values. Algorithmic Pattern Salon. https://doi.org/10.21428/108765d1.42631e5e

Talks:

Velvet Values: Identifying embodied handcraft knowledge through the velvet weaving process, III. Symposium BOL x Hybrid Platform, ‘Sustainable Futures’, 7 May 2024

More information:

wovenbywood.com/velvet