tela specula
2025
9 x 11.5 . x 1.5 in
5-page risograph print, paper circuit pop-up book
tela specula is a pop-up paper circuit book deconstructing the form of the machine by cutting up and rearranging photographs captured from data centers in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Long Island. It dives into our relationship to the materiality, and the progression of the pages moves towards a techno-fantasy where a flood washes out the centers and the buildings become submerged into the ocean.
> THE MACHINE: “To thread the machine is to invite a form of tension. The needle runs from us to the server farm, to the loom’s mother, to our mother, to two stocking frames broken in a fit of rage, and back to us.”
> THE CLOUD: “To maintain means to cool chains upon chains of redundant fail-safes to prevent costly downtime.”
> THE TEAR: “Where the garment tears is where we will gather.”
> THE GATHERING: “To gather, as fabric or as people, is to create a structure.”
> THE SPACE IN BETWEEN: “Carving the space and time to invite others in.”
I was inspired by Kelli Anderson’s pop up books and the way she breaks down complex systems into movable paper mechanisms that can be more easily understood through touch. The interactivity of this medium allows for creating more physicality to a concept that often feels vague and out of reach.
Some components are audio activated. When the page is opened, the sound of hands operating machinery plays. Other times, there are paper circuits embedded so that when the connection is completed, the sticker LED’s will light up.
Special thank you to Kathleen Ma who helped me refine + edit the text.
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