Circuit Board

University of Florida

My largest Circuit Board to date, a public commission for the University of Florida’s Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology
Year
2023
Body of  Work
Circuit Board
Size
108 x 300 x 2 in
Location
University of Florida
Materials

Sunbrella cordage

24k gold

walnut

Commissioned by
Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology

I created this massive Circuit Board for the University of Florida to celebrate the diverse group of scientists and technologists who work and study there, and the people who came before them and helped make their pursuits possible.

The works in this series (2016–present) depict the visual motifs of hardware circuitry using the techniques of weaving and knotting. This merging of craft and technology has its roots in the early days of tech, specifically the late 1960s, when companies such as Fairchild Semiconductor and even the NASA Apollo missions relied on craftswomen—especially Navajo weavers who were living on Shiprock reservation in New Mexico—to assemble and construct circuit boards and computer memory modules. My Circuit Board works re-presence the contributions of those craftswomen, restoring them to their rightful place in tech history.

Credits
Artist
Windy Chien
Collaborator
Team Members
Fabricator
Production/Installation Support

Oaklianna Caraballo

James Vignola

Ajax Building Company

AXIS Fine Art Installation

Interior Design
Commissioned by Art in State Buildings
Photography
Dan Green