ICLC 2023 Catalogue PROOF VERSION

KhipuKoding 2.0 + The Neokhipukamayok Manifesto

Paola Torres Núñez del Prado

Was performed at:

Program Notes

KhipuKoding 2.0 + The Neokhipukamayok Manifesto is a Sound Performance thought around the khipu (fiber-based notation device of pre-Hispanic origin) that combines Machine Learning, Computer Vision, the human act of knotting, and a hybrid notation method that reads khipu-style knots in order to generate sound.

Abstract


The abstract is displayed here for proof-reading and will only be part of the published proceedings, not of the final version of this web catalogue.

This hybrid Live Coding act is thought around the khipu (fiber-based notation device of preHispanic origin), and is constantly in development. The KhipuKoding system consists of hanging textile ropes that are tied following a notation method inspired in the actual values given by the Incan method. A computer running a Machine Learning + Computer Vision model (Yolo5) trained to recognize knots then associates their position to numbers (in the Incan manner) and that, in turn, runs or modifies a line of code in the FoxDot (SuperCollider) environment in order to generate sound.

Growing up in Peru, the khipu was taught as part of my identity, build up onto a grandiose past, now long gone. As such, I knew about such device early in life, and it shaped my understanding of code and tactility. The Neokhipukamayok Manifesto recognizes a line of sound researchers and visual artists that have referenced such device in their practices, and discusses its implications.