Priscilla Benyahia: Diary of a cable stripper
“Diary of a cable stripper” crystallizes the entangled legacies of two women, both known to history as Lovelace. Ada Lovelace, born in 1815, is credited with developing the first published algorithm intended for execution by a machine in 1843. Linda Lovelace, born in 1949, was one of the first stars of pornographic cinema before later becoming an anti-pornography activist. She recounted her life story in two books, Ordeal and Out of Bondage.
This project explores the resonances between their stories, driven by a fascination with archives and language which translate into images and sculptures. A dive into the history of the loom and the computer, the success of Linda’s first movie inducing massive technological innovations, truth-telling etymologies, this work diverts forms and representations in a quest to honor legacies of resilience, scientific trinities, and ex-porn stars.
Photo: Margarita Nikitaki
Throughout the 1800s, the word “lace” was predominantly used as a noun to describe the fine, open fabric made of cotton or silk, materials deeply intertwined with colonial economies. Much like today’s production of electronic devices, lace-making relied on intricate labor networks shaped by global trade and exploitation. The techniques involved – looping, twisting, and tying – eventually came to define the word’s predominant use as a verb by the 1900s.
This linguistic link was important to me, as the main archival material we have access to from Ada and Linda Lovelace is in written form. Reading Ada’s letters and Linda's books made me feel a deeper connection to them, prompting me to start my own type of writing: a diary in the form of daily research. This translated into a process of cable stripping and lacing, exploring the tactile depth of intertwinement – between bondage and circuitry – tying our stories together.
The sculptural language became a kind of photographic reconstruction of the connections made. I could not help but notice the resemblance between plugged-in cables and hair coming out of a scalp. The visual echo between our bodily systems – veins, arteries, nerves, hair – and electrical installations led to a hairy portrait of Ada, referencing a common Victorian hairstyle.
Photo: Margarita Nikitaki
As part of my research, I created an archive of my own. One piece of it consists of a pair of playlists (available on my Spotify), titled Ada Lovelace and Linda Lovelace. Another began when I came across the Pinterest category “cable porn”: a collection of images by electricians showcasing cable management skills, once referred to as “cable lacing”, which aligns with the textile realm.
Patterns made of cable ties began to emerge, referencing Kabyle symbols – a codified language created by North African Indigenous tribes centuries ago –signifying resistance, protection, and renewal. This process also included collective knowledge, passed down through generations, creating a living archive that bridges past and present.
Found footage
The conductive materials I used made it clear that electricity needed a space to occupy in the work. I started researching how the sculptures could emit sound when touched. This opened a new research pathway into sonic exploration: ghostboxes that capture fragments and melodies of industrial production. The project has yet to take on a performative dimension, where the body becomes both conductor and witness, completing circuits of connection across time and space.
Photo: Margarita Nikitaki
This nascent exploration of sound and presence – voices emerging from silence – led me to remix the written traces left by Ada and Linda. Here is an excerpt from my “diary”, composed from their writings (Ada’s in brackets):
"I have now gone thro’ the night of my life, I believe, worse is to be poor and famous and a sex symbol. I consider that my being began at midnight, and that I am now approaching the dawn". Or maybe it is a sense of responsibility intruding on a fool’s paradise.
"No one knows what almost awful energy & power lie yet undeveloped in that wiry little system of mine. I say awful, because you may imagine what it might be under certain circumstances. We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves…"
And flowers never hurt, not a bit.
"The engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent," it is not an automatic modern technical shortcut to determine truth or deception. It is not the final arbiter as to guilt or innocence. It does not give a printout like a computer card.
"I have never been quite able to decide whether life is most desirable or alarming!
It is a nice question.
Your Fairy for ever"
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