Dirty Deeds
2012 - Eastern Block Gallery, Sydney

Dirty Deeds brings together textiles, pattern, colour, music and technology in an installation developed collaboratively with Michaela Davies and Charlotte Haywood.

The work draws on the history of the Jacquard loom, developed by Joseph-Marie Jacquard in the early 19th century. Its punched-card system for controlling woven patterns is widely recognised as an important precursor to computer programming. We extended this history by developing a unique visual code to translate Australian music into pattern.

The installation uses colour and pattern to create a form of visual music, drawing on Roy de Maistre’s system of correlating the light spectrum with musical notes. The resulting works separate and rearrange elements of music into visual forms, creating a sense of disorientation and synaesthesia.

Dirty Deeds looks back to moments of technological innovation while questioning ideas of progress and innovation in contemporary Australia, particularly in relation to primary industries. The work connects the histories of textiles, mechanical computation and visual music with questions about how we imagine Australia’s technological future.

Collaboration
Michaela Davies · Claire Conroy · Charlotte Haywood

Supported by
Australia Council for the Arts