Alex Davilmar


  • — design



    • — photography



    • — essays and writtings

    are.na
    email
    instagram




    operational memory



    operational images

    Also known as operative image, these images serve a functional, rather than aesthetic, purpose. Operational images are not intended to be viewed by people. They are a rendering of the real world; they are created by machines so that other machines may be able to perform a task or operation. Operational images are used in a wide variety of applications, such as weapons targeting and guidance systems, and assisting surgeons performing robot-assisted surgery.




    For this project I used photos that I took in Seoul, South Korea that I use to remember fond memories of people and places and completely removed their recognizable features to illustrate the non-descriminatory way that machines collect and treat information. These machines are used for surveillance and enforcement of power by goverment and corporations alike. 

    algorithm=corporations


    The violence hiding behind algorithms, code and machines is also a theme that I am exploring in my piece. It is easy to get lost in the idea that an image or video we have produced and shared does not perform well because it does not suit the algorithm, and that it isn’t personal, as a machine has made this determination through data. The starting point of this code that is the DNA of the algorithm was written by someone, and the intentions of the author were biased. Machines, code and algorithms perpetuate the biases and the violence of the intention of the people that hold power. 


    In my pieces, I use the aesthetic un-aesthetic illegibility of operational images to reflect the senseless violence perpetrated by governments and corporations . We can create a new visual language and literacy that informs populations and communities of the violence that is perpetuated by the hegemonic powers of capitalism.

    Operational images are not meant to be seen much like the violence most of them perpetuate, so by bringing them to light as an emerging aesthetic, we can hope that the information and associations made may galvanize people to demand change and fight the hegemonic powers that terrorize us everyday.