Nelly Ben Hayoun

“In this short film, the central character Cathy is compelled to wear a biometric monitor. It broadcasts a stream of data to an unseen agency – this could be an insurance company with vested interest in Cathy’s health, or a medical institution implementing a service designed to extend the life-spans of it’s users. Either way, the function of the implant contrives an intrusion upon Cathy’s life. It erodes her personal freedom, enforcing a structure tailored for the production of the right ‘kind’ of biometric information.

So, Cathy devises a series of elaborate deceits, allowing her go out with friends, or just put her feet up, while still providing optimal data. A three legged cat is coaxed into wearing the device, hopping around the flat to generate fake activity. The closing spin cycle of the washing machine also does a good job. Cathy then skilfully disassembles the device and links it to a foot pump, to be reluctantly operated by her daughter.

These sequences are interrupted with footage from a conversation with Olive Murphy, a researcher at the IBE. Olive speculates how data generated by the sensing devices developed through her own research (an implantable blood pressure monitor) might be circumvented. “Once it’s implanted it’s always there” explains Olive, and we follow Cathy into a lift where she rests, to prevent transmission of her data. ”

Human Futures: Art in an Age of Uncertainty, edited by Andy Miah and published by Liverpool University Press is available from the FACT shop on 30 October.