Reinventing the Spindle—A First Experiment in Gravitational Craft

Reinventing the Spindle is an artistic exploration, which was awarded the Art + Technology Grant by the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA) and is supported by the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) as its technical advisor. 

The project investigates feminized and underexplored textile crafts such as hand spinning, braiding, knotting, netting, and tatting in microgravity and low-gravity environments, towards inventing new techniques that are indigenous to zero gravity. With a particular focus on the current acceleration of the commercialization of the Low Earth Orbit, the artist Ebru Kurbak highlights zero gravity as commodity and commons, and uses her experiments as basis for greater conversation around the ramifications of space research and colonization.