ways of seeing (according to temperature)
a collaboration with maya simkin
ways of seeing (according to temperature) is a performance essay that explores the poetics of thermal imaging surveillance. the ephemeral nature of warmth and the attempt to measure it to localize danger, painting hot spots in yellows, oranges, and reds, presents a visualization of data points that effectively “turns all bodies into indistinct human morphologies that cannot be differentiated according to conventional visible light indicators of gender, race, or class...and has the effect of normalizing surveillance since all bodies appear similar beneath its gaze" (Lisa Parks). this performance essay asks questions about these issues utilizing visuals, speech, and our own heat.
in kyllo v. us (2001), the supreme court ruled that thermal imaging required a search warrant, as it revealed too many intimate details that lay inside the walls of a home, such as “what hour each night the lady of the house takes her daily sauna and bath” (justice scalia). The essay dissects these historical and contemporary applications of thermal imaging surveillance as used by the united states, where a right to privacy is guaranteed by a standard of “reasonability” in regards to what technology can and cannot be used, and is therefore in constant flux.
this was performed at autonomni kulturni centar in zagreb, croatia on august 8, 2018 as a part of the hacknet01 residency.
