body as textile

This web and installation project explores textile as hypertext extending beyond thread and fabric, weaving information through bodies, spaces, and histories.

By expanding ideas on human kinesthetics and exploring the potential for unconventional archival mediums, we can rethink how bodies inhabit space and how textiles both enclose and provide comfort within it—ultimately revealing how even the clothing we wear may serve as carriers of information.

The interactive activity uses p5.js and ml5.js to record a heatmap of bodies in motion over time, generating an abstract, patterned record of each user’s movements through a webcam. These patterns are saved to a database and layered atop one another, forming a collective bodily imprint.

A zine was designed and created featuring our project description, concept, and statement. As an added element, embroidery kits were provided for visitors to take home, allowing them to recreate their movement patterns in physical form.