ATTENTION is the focusing of the viewer’s attention on the laborious technique of weaving perebory (traditional Lublin weaving ornaments), where every line of the pattern is born from the meticulousness and mindfulness of the weaver. This technique requires intense focus and centering one’s attention on every single warp thread to ensure the pattern is woven according to the original design.
Attention is also an attempt to confront ancient handicraft techniques with modern digital technologies. It was the loom that served as the foundation for Joseph Jacquard’s invention—the Jacquard machine—which became the prototype for the modern computer. The pattern book, mapping, and lightboxes that make up the Attention project allude to this process of technical evolution. The pattern modules, written in code and rendered line by line, reference the work performed on an automated Jacquard loom. Meanwhile, the openwork fronts of the lightboxes refer both to the grid-based designs used as the basis for weaving perebory and to the punched cards that were the precursor to memory in controlling the Jacquard machine.
The project also looks toward the future by confronting art with Artificial Intelligence. Using deep machine learning techniques, AI creates new perebory based on existing patterns provided as input. The exhibited graphics present the process of pattern creation by a neural network, dubbed the “pereborial network” for this project.