The Other Shapes of Me
Emilio Vavarella, PhD in Film and Visual Studies + Critical Media Practice
“The Other Shapes of Me” is the result of Vavarella’s research into the origin and current applications of binary technology: from weaving to programming, algorithms, software, automation processes, up to the complete computerization of a human being. “The Other Shapes of Me” includes the video installation “rs548049170_1_69869_T;” the homonymous artist book (Mousse Publishing); the film “Genesis;” the series of medium-size tapestries “Sections;” and the series of small-size tapestries “Samples.” All these works revolve around a year-long performance during which a large piece of fabric that codifies and contains Vavarella’s genetic information is woven by his mother on one of the first computers of history: a 19th-century Jacquard loom. In the tension between the loving gestures of a mother and the automatic movements of a mechanical loom, “The Other Shapes of Me” gives form to Vavarella’s reflections on technical reproducibility, the materiality of information, and the interplay between biological, mechanical, and computational life.
Sever 416