THERMOPOWER

(2019-2021)

12:35m, HD video, color, sound


Thermopower explores the biological concept of thermoregulation across mammals and machines. It introduces the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small mountainous relative of rabbits and indicator species for the climate crisis, as a frame through which to articulate how thermoregulation affects and is affected by human animals, nonhuman animals, and human-designed technologies like internet data centers.

The research-driven film repurposes a steerable, networked research camera called TundraCam, typically used by scientists to study the alpine tundra. Commingling creative, scientific, and technological approaches, it animates a conversation on the role of technology in both the maintenance and loss of livable temperatures. 

Supported by:
  • The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts
  • Redline Contemporary Art Center
  • Nature, Environment, Science, Technology Studio for the Arts (NEST)

Screenings & Exhibitions: 
  • FEELERS: Towards Reciprocal Sensing, Fulcrum Festival, Los Angeles, CA (2022)
  • The Other Art Fair, Saatchi, Los Angeles, CA (2021)
  • Labocine by Imagine Science Films, Online (2020)
  • Nature Club, Femmebit, Online (2020)
  • 4S Making & Doing, New Orleans, LA (2019)
  • Multispecies Storytelling, Växjö, Sweden (2019)

Notes:
Thermopower is the result of field and lab research conducted with Ashley Whipple, a biologist studying American pika stress.



Documentation photos by Ian Byers Gambel