From pixels to patchwork
Increasingly those of us living in technologically accelerated cultures experience much of what we consider reality through mediated images. The images have been broken down into bits, transferred through cables or transported through the air to be reassembled as pixel-based images in our cell phones, computers and television sets. The pixel is the core unit of the digital, graphic environment and is representative of the unstable and infinitely malleable age we live in where everything seems to be in a state of flux and images can no longer be trusted to tell the truth.
Structurally, the patchwork quilt and the pixel-based image have more in common than not. Both are Frankenstein-like assemblages of seemingly unrelated parts. Both use the modular unit of the square to create a grid where parts can be assembled to create recognizable images or aesthetically pleasing patterns. Both are malleable forms that can be endlessly authored and manipulated on both the micro and macro level.
Metaphorically, the patchwork quilt and the pixel-based image represent two entirely different experiences. Where the quilt represents stability and tradition the pixel-based image represents constant change and chaos. Where the quilt is valued for its accumulated wealth in years and is passed down through generations a pixel-based image is passed around the world in a matter of minutes and is passe within a week.
Formally, the difference and similitude that exists between these two entities creates a dynamic tension that is played-out on the surface of the quilt. The women, depicted in a digital format, are structurally at one with the quilt yet in conflict with the stability and tradition the quilt represents.
