Crude Encryptions is a series that begins with a nude self-portrait, translated into ASCII code: a crude system of symbols, numbers, and letters used to render digital images. This manual conversion acts as a form of self-censorship: one that obscures the body from machines but not from human viewers, who can still intuitively read the figure through the abstractions.
The resulting images occupy a strange threshold, hidden in plain sight. The coded forms are then rendered physically through various processes: laser-engraved into wood or acrylic, printed on paper, or cut directly from metal panels. Each material carries its own weight and readability, from the sharpness of laser-cut steel to the softness of ink on paper.
In Crude Encryptions, Bailey stages a quiet confrontation between visibility and legibility, privacy and exposure, exploring how bodies move through systems of control, language, and perception. The work resists both full revelation and full erasure, offering a gesture of resistance that is as vulnerable as it is encrypted.