In 2004, I went to Switzerland to participate in an Artists-In-Labs residency that involved making a portable water quality visualization tool called Floating Point. Using a laptop and battery-powered sensors, I staged public performances where I invited participants to bring water samples for testing with my custom software. Participants received a printout of their sample’s health. On the back of the paper, a key provided the scientific framework behind the colorful graphics. Ever since Floating Point, nearly all of my research and creative practice has focused on the question of how art and technology can promote sustainability.

My interest in uncovering hidden data streams in buildings began in 2001, with a commission from the Getty Research Institute. I created an animation that utilized the feed from the existing surveillance camera network called Mazed. There, I became acquainted with the massive quantity of sensors and related hardware being integrated into institutional architecture. Nearly all of this high-tech computerized equipment was concealed from public view. That piece and the others that followed provided a commentary and a public window on the automated surveillance systems hidden in so many buildings. The early research encouraged me to investigate other sorts of monitoring systems that augment hidden datasets in contemporary architecture—like the usage of key resources such as electricity and water.

Click the links in the menu above to see individual projects.