Social Fabric

2012 - Halifax, NS Canada & Stellenbosch, South Africa

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft

Anna Leonowens Gallery & Slee Gallery

Social Fabric is a body of work that depicts the excessive overshare culture of Facebook and other social media platforms using handwoven Jacquard cloth.
Significantly, the Jacquard loom played an important role in the development of the modern day computer and automation through its innovative use of punch card technology.
The process to create one textile is both time consuming and labour intensive, elevating fast-food digital party images to a format reminiscent of tapestries from the Renaissance.

Party of Strangers
2012

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
8’8” x 3’3” (264 x 99 cm)

  • The Illinois & Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, creating a continuous water route from New York to New Orleans. This made Chicago a central hub for trade, transportation, and industry, allowing goods to flow efficiently between the East Coast and the interior of the country. The canal attracted waves of immigrants, laborers, and entrepreneurs, fueling rapid urban growth. By linking water and rail networks, it transformed Chicago into the nation’s key inland port—helping it become the fastest-growing city in the world by the late 19th century.

Party of Strangers - Detail
2012

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
8’8” x 3’3” (264 x 99 cm)

  • Canal scrip for the Illinois and Michigan Canal was a form of currency issued by the canal commissioners to pay for construction costs when they faced financial difficulties. Unable to pay workers and suppliers, they issued these "checks" drawn on the canal's credit, essentially promising future payment. While the scrip was accepted at face value for canal land purchases, it often traded at a discount on the open market, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the canal's completion and the state's ability to repay its debts.

lil’ country boy <3
2013

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
5’1” x 6’6” (155 x 200 cm)

  • This website was launched to help festival goers understand how to buy bLOCKcoin, where to go in town to use it and the historic context around the project.

lil’ country boy <3 - Detail
2013

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
5’1” x 6’6” (155 x 200 cm)

  • The I&M Canal helped shape Illinois’ northern border before it was even built. In 1818, to keep the future canal entirely within one state, Illinois leaders successfully pushed to move the state’s border north—bringing nearly 50 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, including what would become Chicago, into Illinois. This strategic move ensured the canal—and the economic power it would generate—belonged to Illinois, not Wisconsin.

hebba & camille?
2012

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
9’3” x 3’3” (282 x 99 cm)

  • The cryptocurrency was released with a multichannel video installation inside the First National Bank of Lockport, and later relocated to the Illinois State Museum which served as a currency exchange.

Social Fabric - Installation View at Anna Leonowens Gallery
2013

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
Dimensions Variable

  • The Illinois & Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, creating a continuous water route from New York to New Orleans. This made Chicago a central hub for trade, transportation, and industry, allowing goods to flow efficiently between the East Coast and the interior of the country. The canal attracted waves of immigrants, laborers, and entrepreneurs, fueling rapid urban growth. By linking water and rail networks, it transformed Chicago into the nation’s key inland port—helping it become the fastest-growing city in the world by the late 19th century.

Comment Thread 0010
2012

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
1’6” x 10’3” (46 x 312 cm)

  • Joliet-Lemont Limestone, prevalent in the area’s historic architecture and buildings was first dredged in the digging of the canal and later quarried in the surrounding areas. Joliet-Lemont Limestone can also be found on many of Chicago’s oldest landmarks including the Water Tower & Pumping Station.

Comment Thread 0010 - Detail
2012

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
1’6” x 10’3” (46 x 312 cm)

  • The cryptocurrency was released with a multichannel video installation inside the First National Bank of Lockport, and later relocated to the Illinois State Museum which served as a currency exchange.

    Joliete-Lemont Limestone, prevelant in the area’s historic architecture and buildings was first dredged in the digging of the canal and later quarried in the surrounding areas. Joliet-Lemont Limestone can also be found on many of Chicago’s oldest landmarks including the Water Tower & Pumping Station.

    The quarrying of the limestone served as a physical parallel to the mining operations of today’s cryptocurrencies, which are known for their water consumption and energy use.

Profile Pictures 2 of 53 & 3 of 53
2013

Hand-Woven Jacquard Cloth; Cotton Warp & Merino Wool Weft
2’8” x 3’3” (81 x 99 cm) each

  • An act granting federal land for canal purposes.