VIBRANCE speaks via visual reference to the Cyberpunk aesthetic as symbolic of the ills of progress. Cyberpunk as a genre is a narrative shorthand for the glittering lights of progress that hypocritically channel value upwards to the ruling class, at the expense of those entrapped in generating that value. Stories told through the Cyberpunk lens oft tell the tale of productive masses toiling towards a brighter future, dangled before them like a proverbial carrot. It is steeped in the illusion of progress while sweeping the cost of that progress – people – under the rug. In retaliation, the Vaporwave aesthetic uses the same visual language to speak to the strength of the human spirit, to break free from those oppressive societal structures that seek only to take.
With my ongoing use of embroidery as my medium of choice, I detach the hyper-digitised vaporwave aesthetic from its cyberpunk roots and instead render it tactile and real. The embroidery floss I work with is fluorescent, which simultaneously mimics the heightened reality of the digital promise, while being impossible to recreate on a screen. Both the simplification of visuals down into shapes and the use of gradients are consistent with the direction of my overall body of work, exploring minimalism and suprematism, especially the function of these elements in art unburdened by figurative representation.
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