Circuit Board

Sunbrella cordage, 24k gold, walnut

108 x 300 x 2 in

Commissioned by Art in State Buildings in 2023 for the University of Florida’s new Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology in Gainesville, FL

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
Studio Windy Chien Team: Khaia Brogan, Judy Lew, Lauren Sorresso, Charlene Tan
Production/Installation Support: Oaklianna Caraballo, James Vignola; Ajax Building Company, AXIS Fine Art Installation
Photography: Dan Green