Thermal Drift Density Map
“Thermal Drift Density Map” is an interactive artwork that visualizes the dispersion of body heat as emissions of thermal energy in the form of slow-moving packets or quanta that flow away from the participant. The project uses a thermal camera to detect heat, and a particle system to visualize its dispersion, while computational image-making reveals the porous boundary between body and environment.
Thermal cameras, which are increasingly used in policing and military contexts, are instruments illustrative of asymmetrical power wherein bodies made subject are rarely given the opportunity to see themselves in imaged form. In such applications, body heat, an essential human signature signalling life becomes a target that puts that vitality at risk.
In “Thermal Drift Density Map” the camera is placed in a safer and more playful environment, which affords it the opportunity to illustrate how body temperature paints personalized portraits, while using a shared signature of the human condition. The dispersive effect of “Thermal Drift Density Map” reveals how the human does not end at the skin but is in conversation with the surrounding atmosphere. Here dispersion also activates a re-distribution of power normally held by the position of image-taking, to allow the “spectral subject” to be on the witnessing end of the image.
Thermal cameras, which are increasingly used in policing and military contexts, are instruments illustrative of asymmetrical power wherein bodies made subject are rarely given the opportunity to see themselves in imaged form. In such applications, body heat, an essential human signature signalling life becomes a target that puts that vitality at risk.
In “Thermal Drift Density Map” the camera is placed in a safer and more playful environment, which affords it the opportunity to illustrate how body temperature paints personalized portraits, while using a shared signature of the human condition. The dispersive effect of “Thermal Drift Density Map” reveals how the human does not end at the skin but is in conversation with the surrounding atmosphere. Here dispersion also activates a re-distribution of power normally held by the position of image-taking, to allow the “spectral subject” to be on the witnessing end of the image.
General info
Spanish name:
Deriva Térmica, Mapa de Densidad
Year of creation:
2022
Shadowbox
Technique:
Custom made generative software, computer, thermal camera, display
Power:
300W on 110 OR 240V, plus the monitor needs
Dimensions:
Variable
Keywords:
Edition:
6 Editions, 1 AP
Collectors:
private collectors
Treatment
Technique:
Custom made generative software, computer, thermal camera, projector
Power:
300W on 110 OR 240V, plus the projection needs
Dimensions:
Variable
Keywords:
Edition:
1 Edition, 1 AP
Exhibitions
- Zona MACO, Galería Max Estrella, Mexico City, México, 2024.
- Untitled Art Fair, bitforms gallery, Miami, Florida, United States, 2023.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: EXCUSE YOU!, bitforms gallery, San Francisco, California, United States, 2023.
- TECHS-MECHS: A Survey of Mexican Technological Culture, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, Grand Theatre, San Francisco, California, United States, 2023.
- Art Dubai ‘23, GALLOIRE, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2023.
- Untitled Art Fair, Galería Max Estrella, Miami, Florida, United States, 2022.
- 13th Mercosul Biennial, Ministry of Citizenship and Santander, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2022.
- Armory Show, Galería Max Estrella, Javits Center, New York City, New York, United States, 2022.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: EXCUSE YOU!, Wilde Gallery, Basel, Switzerland, 2022.
Credits
- Programming: Hugo Daoust
- Production Assistance: Tim Belliveau, Amir Rostami, William Sutton
Photo Library (click to expand)