Esquemáticos is a series of works that link handmade embroidery with symbolic representation systems such as electronic technical drawing. The project deals with the possibilities of drawing in the expanded field with a series of large-format diagrams that have been hand-sewn with cotton threads, conductive thread and electronic components. The idea is to create drawings that are at the same time fully functional machines that can be operated by the public.

There are 5 sound pieces of 300 x 150 cm each:

I) A 555 integrated circuit creates sound oscillations in response to the audience’s drawings with graphite pencils.

II) An electronic organ has 8 buttons that correspond to the musical scale.

II) A heart rate sensor activates an LED light and a speaker in time with the participant’s pulse.

IV) An audio sensor connected to a relay that turns on an old radio or record player.

V) A breathalyzer measures the level of alcohol in the participant’s breath and turns it into an ambulance siren (tequila is optionally provided to help the audience activate the work).

This project attempts to overlay the abstraction of technical drawings with functional technology, creating formal and procedural connections between them.

Esquématicos seeks to combine the slow task of embroidery, surrounded by stereotypes of gender, class, craftsmanship and cheap labor, with the low-tech aesthetic of old-school analog circuits and electronic components.