GROUND TRUTH: PERFORMING THE PIXEL
proposed research/in progress
2008-ongoing

 

Ground truthing is the physical, on-site verification of the pixels that are transmitted via satellite as a result of remote sensing and processed into images and maps depicting particular features of a place. The experience of a place/this place, depending upon the context, could be only referenced by the pixel displaying colors representative of invisible bands of light. Political and economic decisions about a place might be made based solely on the information of the pixel. I walk a pixel of land slated for development, recording both past and emergent narratives of those places soon to be undergoing dramatic changes. I seek a practice that compares information of the actual locale with the compressed version of the pixel to create hybrids of scientifc and local subjectivities, at times working collaboratively with others, where the ground truth of the pixel supports the notion and practice of local authority and resists the narrow band of information assigned to it.

photos:long leaf pines, me ground truthing, and satellite map of Waldo, Fl