College graduation is a time of celebration and reflection, the marking of a new chapter in a life that had thus far been spent in tutelage. At the Royal college of Art in London, graduation is a time to showcase the skills and talent that students have refined over several years of practice and learning. Such is the case with Thorunn Arnadottir, a graduate whose taken a particular liking to textile QR codes. At the graduation ceremony, Arnadottir showed off her final designs, most of which featured prominent, artistically elaborated codes.
Arnadottir exhibited intricate beadwork of African design. The beads coalesce to form a number of QR codes in varying patters, sizes and orientation. One code is designed to resemble a face and can, in fact, be scanned with a smart phone. The dress was designed using Swarovski crystals and was made for a popular Icelandic pop group named Steed Lord. The code designed in a facial pattern becomes animated when scanned, singing one of Steed Lord’s songs.
The graduation exhibition is part of her popular “QR U” project, which features a number of textile codes.
The use of QR codes in this way stand testament to their versatility and the fact that they are not restrained solely to the role of mobile marketing tools. The codes are becoming more popular as forms of expression rather than promotion, and Arnidottir may be one of the pioneers of such a trend.
