
XXI
Blood and Data Flows
Contributed by Johanna Levy, 2018
Keywords: Collage, Flows, Data
Blood and Data Flows juxtaposes two spaces which, apart from their visual organization, appear to be inherently different and unrelated at first sight: the intimate space of my thighs and an unknown server room. However, when taking a closer look, it becomes evident that they share crucial characteristics: both spaces are highly surveilled and often, the materialities of blood and data flows remain invisible.
The collage explores the entanglements between flows of menstrual blood and digital data, and aims to make visible their materialities. Through self-tracking technologies such as menstrual apps – the topic of my research project – users create vast amounts of digital data which are stored and processed in rooms like the one shown, thus establishing intimate interconnections between blood and data flows.