Data Textiles: Exploring Data Physicalization in Quilts, Embroidery, and Fiber Arts

By Nancy Smith

Data physicalization is a growing creative area that focuses on data representation through the creation of physical objects—from early forms of stone counting and clay tablets to models made of wood, wire, and string to contemporary expressions of data in mediums such as weaving, quilting, knitting, and sculpture—data physicalization has taken many unique forms. My work utilizes textiles to explore environmental data, representing a variety of topics, including melting glaciers, animal agriculture, space junk, computing energy, coral bleaching, and plastic pollution.

How can we consider the connection between aesthetics and data integrity in a piece of data art, especially as art may be more open to interpretation than other forms of data representation?

What can art do to leverage the power of data to create political change?

How can textiles and fiber arts help us understand and connect to data in a new way?

Through these works, I explore these questions and consider the relationship between data visualization, traditional quilting/embroidery patterns, and new and emerging forms of fiber arts.