Invisible Data Performance
Shehnaz Suterwalla · Archive of research processes and output produced by RCA (Royal College of Art) · 2016
A workshop that explored the reactions of our body and our mind to two pervasive and invisible datasets – smell and GPS. This event drew from historical research on digital subjectivity and identity as well as performative ideas about the body and lived experience. Through recording and communicating two datasets we invited participants to question the political and social ramifications of how data visualisations are designed, challenging conventional connections between technology and society. The event was led by Dr Shehnaz Suterwalla, design historian at the Royal College of Art; Kate McLean, a multidisciplinary artist working in visual and olfactory communication, and Christopher Wood, an artist and researcher interested in the ability of technology to mediate and create space in urban environments. This event was part of the Being Human festival – the UK’s only national festival of the humanities.