“Against a rising tide of automation and increasing digital complexity, we are becoming further divorced from the very thing that defines us: we are makers, crafters of things.” - Alexander Langlangs, Cræft

Inspired by contemporary movements of craft-based making, I conducted an analysis of historical ‘craft waves’ observed since the Industrial Revolution, arguing that today’s is a direct countercultural response to the infiltration of generative AI into everyday life and creative spaces. Through research on generative AI use’s effects on the brain and an understanding of craft-based movements, I created this piece, using pressure ulcers— better known as bedsores— as a physical manifestation of the deterioration of mind and soul. I handmade each patch, as well as the entire set backdrop, from thrifted textiles, thread, and beads, emulating bandages or grafts.

My hope is for this project to offer both discomfort and a sense of hope, serving as a call to action against a push to automate one of the things that connects us most to our humanity.