MIKA TAJIMA

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Here is a collection of recent photography and field recordings documenting research trips, over the past year, to the few remaining local textile factories in the Philadelphia region. The last image is a stock photo of a colocation server center visited (no cameras were allowed inside).


Velvet loom at MTL (Jessup, PA)

MTL LOOM 1


Jacquard weaving at MTL (Jessup, PA)


Thousands of spools of thread for the velvet loom at MTL (Jessup, PA)


Yarn through a loom at Langhorne Carpet Company (Langhorne, PA)

LC LAYER 1 CLAPS, WITH BREAK


Keeping time at Penn Wire Works (Philadelphia, PA)

WIRE LOOM 1


Yarn dyeing at Caledonia Dye Works (Philadelphia, PA)

CALEDONIA DYEING PROCESS 1


Punched cards with the designs of jacquard textiles for looms at MTL (Jessup, PA)


Stock image of a colocation server center (somewhere in Philadelphia, PA)

PTP SERVER 1

All photos by Carlos AvendaƱo, Tyler Henry, Mika Tajima. This research is for a project at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA.

Born in 1975 in Los Angeles, California, Tajima is a New York based artist. Tajima received an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts in 2003. Select solo exhibitions include Seattle Art Museum; Visual Arts Center at University of Texas; Bass Museum, Miami; X Initiative, New York; The Kitchen, New York; RISD Museum, Rhode Island; Circuit, Switzerland. Group exhibitions include Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm; 2008 Whitney Biennial; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Contemporary Art Center Cincinnati, OH; PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, NY; Swiss Institute Contemporary Art, NY; among others. Tajima is also founding member of New Humans, a moniker for collaborative music, art, and actions. Collaborations include Charles Atlas, Vito Acconci, C. Spencer Yeh, Philippe Decrauzat, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, among others. Group and Solo performances include South London Gallery, UK; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA; ICA Philadelphia; Artissima, Italy; Ballroom Marfa; Swiss Institute, NY; Walker Art Center, MN; Whitney Museum, NY.

www.mikatajima.com