In Deriva Térmica (Thermal Drift), Rafael Lozano-Hemmer presents an interactive installation that visualises the dispersion of body heat as emissions of energy quanta which slowly move away from the participant. Using a thermal imaging camera and a computer-generated particle system, the installation reveals the porous boundary between body and environment and reinterprets a technology usually associated with the police or military, employing it as a tool in a participatory and cultural setting. It thus prompts a reflection on image, power and presence, suggesting that the human does not end at the skin, but maintains a constant exchange with the atmosphere around it.

Rafael Lozano‑Hemmer is a Mexican multimedia artist whose installations make use of robotics, sensors, projections and telematics networks to revitalise and transform public spaces. He was the first artist to represent Mexico at the Venice Biennale (2007) and has exhibited at others, including those in Havana, Istanbul, Kochi, Liverpool, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney. He has also held solo exhibitions at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and his works are included in collections such as MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Tate and the Reina Sofía Museum.

Artist: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
Music: Robin Rimbaud “Scanner”
Programming and development: Hugo Daoust, Stephan Schulz, Emily Greene, Timothy Belliveau, Karine Charbonneau