[ISEA2011] Artists Statement: Janis Jefferies & Barbara Layne – Sensual Technologies

Artists Statement

Sensual Technologies introduces garments that explore the relationship between the body and sensual/sensing technologies through performance and dynamic garments.

Currente Calamo by Barbara Layne: The suite of garments feature handwoven
LEDs in a flexible message board.

Wearable Absence presents a minaframe in which clothing becomes the catalyst and filter within the process of retrieving rich media content according to biological data. The collaborative team at GDS involves the creation of dynamic garments and sensing wallpapers using specific paper technologies (m-real.com) and different sensing devices to create a rich database of image and sound. Wearable Absence is a collaborative project with Janis Jefferies and her research team at The Digital Studios at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Sensors embedded in the garments detect body states and present video, audio, still image and text files through the various presentation devices embedded in the garments. The clothing is connected to an online, dynamic database of rich media files, dedicated to a particular “absent” person.

  • Janis Jefferies is an artist, writer and curator, Professor of Visual Arts in the Department of Computing, Goldsmiths University of London, UK, Director of the Constance Howard Resource and Research Centre in Textiles and Artistic Director of Goldsmiths Digital Studios. GDS is dedicated to collaborations among practicing artists, cultural and media theorists, and innovators in computational media, who together are expanding the boundaries of artistic practice, forging the future of digital technologies and developing new understanding of the interactions between technology and society.
  • Barbara Layne is a Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and is a founding member of the Hexagram Institute for research-creation in media arts. As the Director of Studio subTela , Layne lectures and exhibits internationally and her work has been supported with numerous grants including the Canada Council for the Arts, SSHRC , Hexagram, and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec. She is the Principal Investigator of several infrastructure grants from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.subtela.hexagram.ca    finearts.concordia.ca/research/fineartsresearch/researchlabs.

Full text and images (PDF) p.  368-371