Margarete Jahrmann: Sema-Code Dress

Title:

Sema-Code Dress

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Medium:

Linen / hand-print, mobile phone software

Artist Statement:

This ‘wearable without wires’ fashion series by Marguerite Charmante is drawing on patterns, made of so called Sema-Codes, which can be decoded by particular software. Now for example, if an image of the dress is taken with a mobile phone, on which the software is installed, then the encoded information is made visible, which was embedded in the Sem-Code pattern. In the case of this dress it is Botticelli’s Venus, which is exposed piece by piece. The photo taken is automatically replaced by an image of nakedness. In such a manner this fashion-series enables an urban game, which derives friction from antagonism of public, private and hidden. This work introduces a new strain of Wearables without wires or electricity on the body, featuring natural materials as linen and silk. The technology needed to decode, mobile phones and wireless networks, are present in everyday lifes’ Umwelt (environment).

As political critic on surveillance by private images uploaded to anti-social networks, the X-ray qualities of this encoded clothing morphs public and private Naked City. This wearable must be worn and not just watched, to experience another take of the work, those of being exposed. Voyeurism and Surveillance converge in a participatory game of taking absurd images of body parts, which never appear for the player, but which are uploaded. The semi-invisible wearer’s cold shoulder pushes towards the consequences of being read – parallel in the city and in social webs. A Neo-pataphysical collection of body closeup images could grow virally in gamefashion.org’s online memory