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Untitled (2009) artist: Tagny Duff
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| This video explores the relationship between the cell phone, as a tracking device (GPS tracking system and information storage device) with that of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) used to record specimens at the micro and nano scale for surveillance purposes. The SEM is a cousin of the Slow Scan Television, an analog technology whereby video images are processed through the telephone line. Today the SEM is considered one of the most sophisticated 2D imaging systems for visualizing the form and composition of microscopic materials. The speed of scanning and recording the images is painfully slow, more akin to stop-motion photography than real time GPS tracking available on cell phones. In this work, participants are invited to download the video on their cell phones and consider the relation between the surveillance of place and space across various scales and temporal fields in regard to their own bodies. The images are compelling, but the information gained has come at a cost. The structure of the biological specimens becomes progressively more and more damaged, bombarded by electrons when being observed and recorded.
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