By utilising glitches in photography and the image-making process of Jacquard Weave, Save as Text employs weaving as a form of writing to circumnavigate censorship in the contemporary era. Inspired by creative translation methods used by anonymous netizens on social media to evade censorship while dismantling propaganda, weaving becomes the artist’s medium to rewrite censored texts. This medium disrupts and preserves the censored texts as a new form of evidence that cannot exist in their original state.

In the ancient Chinese language, the character for text (文)originated as the literal depiction of a tattooed human body. Paralleling the permanence of tattoos, Jacquard Weave materializes the ephemeral nature of social media content into tangible, long-lasting forms. Though many present-day whistleblowers have “disappeared” along with their digital footprint, Save as Text memorialises their impact and bravery, continuing their legacy for sharing truth.


About Artist