BitParts

BitParts is a drawing project and handmade dataset that nudges the edges of our understanding of data.

We live in a data-driven world, yet many people don’t have the language to speak about it. In BitParts, Elke Finkenauer, a visual artist and former data analyst, uses the familiar forms of drawing and things to introduce ideas about data, show how it is created and used, and suggest ways in which it can be questioned.

Over two and a half years, from October 2019, Elke made a drawing, colour tile and description of 5279 things, materials and fragments from her studio. Using pencil, biro, felt-pen and techniques associated with breaking out of habitual thinking, she modelled in a slow, analogue way what goes on when a dataset is created. This process was guided by 3 rules: 1) don’t hide mistakes; 2) improvise with what is to hand; 3) avoid opinions and facts.

Next, she digitised the drawings and descriptions, classifying each thing by type, category, and how literally it was represented by the ‘data’. At https://bitparts.net viewers are invited to explore this collection of things from a workspace that often remains unseen. The website, which is designed to be viewed on a laptop or desktop, is developed in collaboration with creative coder, Jen Sykes, supported by Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals.