Mapping the surface of the skin to Google Maps

The 4 hour performance involved mapping out Pasadena on a body.

Different geographical areas are represented by skin conditions based

on 19th century studies in medical diseases from the Florentine

Institute of Pathological Medicine's Wax Museum

A Google-maps type projection is superimposed onto constantly

refreshed images of the work-in-progress of the special effects

make-up artists applying the skin conditions to the model.  Thus the

visitor can navigate/ zoom in and out of the body-landscape at will.

The  implications of such a performance raise questions about

body/map/territory and relate back to projects to do with synesthesia,

data placement  as in McSyn and Cychopolis which explored an emotional

mapping of Cagliari, Italy.

"What an incredible performance landscape.  Having just

looked at it I'm not sure what to say; but I'm thinking it is a model

for new hybrid topography--useful for looking/thinking about growing

live cities--not so much nature Nature because it's already a billionX

growing. More a ReMapping than a mapping; maybe even less an

investigation than an incursion as experiment. Almost as if a reverse

strategy could be the followup. Skin mapped onto GoogleEarth then

grafted onto concrete or asphalt--bacterial implants that eventually

colonize."

Dennis Dollens

By Didier Hess & Lutyens