TextDraft

TextDraft / Weaving with Text is a generative/interactive webpage project that proposes to think together about the traditional fields of weaving and language to reveal alternative possibilities. It explores the transformation and preservation of memory and recording, imagining a symbiotic relationship between language and weaving systems. The project focuses on the role of weaving as a socio-cultural repository of memory and the metamorphosis of language created through weaving, especially by women throughout history.
The core of this research is based on a centuries-old weaving algorithm called "name drafting". This algorithm uses letters as the threads that orchestrate the weaving process itself. The letters are coded as threads. They intertwine within the structure of the weave and form the design draft.
The top column of the screen represents the threads and the side column represents the loom pedals. As the user types in the text box, the characters are coded to the threads and pedals using the appropriate algorithm. When the 'Weave Text' command is activated, the weave in the center sketch is created by combining the user input with the available threads. And the 'tie-up', located in the top right-hand corner, acts as an elemental blueprint that can be modified using the 'Change Tie-up' functionality.
Beyond its technical facets, the project considers the transformative potential of weaving in the realm of gender roles. In line with technological advances catalyzing cultural change, the art of weaving is explored as a conduit for analogous social change. The project proposes an avenue for amplifying narratives and discourses of gender equality and social justice.