Borås Art Biennial 2026. Photo: Hendrik Zeitler

Computers Were Women

Video, 13 minutes
Generative algorithm, infinite duration
3 weavings, nylon, metal, waxed linen
The algorithm is Buhl’s readaptation of Nick Montfort’s Taroko Gorge program. Spectroscopic recordings in collaboration with Mads Fredslund Andersen, Aarhus University.
Design consultant: Nakworks
(2026)

The installation Computers Were Women reflects on the often-unacknowledged labor of early female scientists and on human-computer interactions across time. Three large weavings translate the scientific calculations of astronomer Julie Marie Vinter Hansen (1890-1960), and a video composed of spectroscopic recordings of the solar surface honors British-Irish astronomer Annie Maunder (1868-1947). An algorithmic poem continually interweaves fragments echoing the work of these pioneering women, both of whom were employed as “human computers”—a profession spurred by technological progress during the Industrial Revolution, where women were hired to perform complex calculations.