Z
THERMOPOWER
(2019–in progress)film / live performance
paper: “Lagomorph Lessons: Feminist Ethics for Environmental Sensing and Making Sense”
Thermopower weaves the concept of thermoregulation through the practices of 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 lens through which to examine the specificities of thermoregulation across human animals, non-human animals, and human-designed technologies such as air conditioners and internet servers. The project consists of a research-driven film and an associated paper.
The film combines four “lenses”—a steerable online research camera, an on-location camera, satellite imagery, and screenrecording. Its score blends acoustic instruments, the sounds of pikas and air conditioners, and algorithmic processing. The work is currently in development for multimedia performance, featuring live narration and chamber ensemble. Together, the film and text commingle creative, scientific, cultural, and technological approaches, animating a conversation on the role of technology in maintaining livable temperatures.
Notes:
- Recipient of the INSITE Fund, presented by RedLine Contemporary Art Center and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Multimedia performance is in development.
- Exhibited by invitation in Labocine by Imagine Science Films, Winter of the Climate-Haunted Globe Issue.
- Supported by a Full Fellowship at Nature, Environment, Science and Technology (NEST) Studio.
- Thermopower is the result of field and lab research conducted with Ashley Whipple, a biologist who studies American pika stress.
