Exploring the relationship between a utopia & embroidery, creating and translating distinctions between the two aspects.
Techno-Utopia | Senior Thesis / Sept 2023 — Dec 2023
Embroidery, AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Thesis Focus Statement
I want to demonstrate the range of historical Bangladeshi embroidery having evolved from hand to machine and how it will be impacted through the idea of utopianism intertwined with technological advancement.
Establishing Techno-Utopia
• Using embroidery and AI to represent how cultural significance and meaning gets lost when translating from one medium to another
• Creating distinctions between material and tactility by producing hand work and digital outputs of the same concept
Who is the audience?
• Those who are unaware of the Bangladeshi culture and history
• Open to understanding a different perspective of the culture
What is the goal?
• Bringing light to the idea of cultural progression from the past, present, and what could be of the future
• Using cultural elements of the country to inform and educate the audience
• Focusing on analog formats instead of digital to increase accessibility to a wider range of people
Examples of Bangladeshi Embroidery
AI Generated Experiments
These are examples of prompts I had inputted into the AI software, Dall-E.
I had inputted a prompt of what I was planning to embroider, stating the amount and placement.
This is an example of an AI-generation using a photo of the work I had done, asking to ‘make it better’.
Final Pieces
This piece is a self-made representation of authentic Bangladeshi embroidery. It incorporates several elements that, as a Bangladeshi myself, I believe represent the culture. As you can see, the designs are intricate and feature a lot of colors and details. While none of the elements tell a specific story, they depict various imagery and representations of animals, nature, and cultural motifs. The vibrant and colorful patterns make it eye-catching and invite viewers to appreciate every little detail in the embroidery.
This final AI generation was created by using a photo of the physical embroidery as a prompt. It resulted in various interpretations and variations, influenced by the gaps and nuances present in the original design. This process highlights a limitation of AI: despite being given a direct image to generate from, it struggles to produce a clear or accurate representation of the embroidery. This raises the question of whether AI is beneficial or detrimental in such creative endeavors. In this instance, I would argue that AI does not significantly contribute to capturing the essence of authentic Bangladeshi embroidery. The piece generated by AI does not fully convey the meticulous work and dedication that embroiderers put into crafting such designs. It demonstrates that faster production does not necessarily equate to achieving the highest quality of work.
