Humanos

From Rhizome Artbase
2001
Description

In Humanos, users are asked to scan their right hand and submit it to the project's server. This image is processed and interpolated with other users' hands in order to form the image of a collective body part made from those who inhabit and transit cyberspace.

Rhizome staff
2021

>>CONCEPT
Humanos v.1 is a project about identities and collective identities in the digital domain, and especially on the net. In it, the users are asked to scan their hand and submit it to the project's server. This hand image is proccessed in real time and interpolated with other user's hands in order to form the image of a collective body part, a sort of 'exquisite corpse' that could be seen as a sign of pertinence as were the hand prints in prehistoric caves. The collective print of the ones who inhabit and transit the cyberspace.
If we were to believe in quiromancy, we could also interpret the hand's lines as the writings of a collective destiny, always changing, as the hand changes with each new user's contribution. The user can see in real time how this contribution affects the image and the hand line patterns. The image of the body is digitalized and processed without ever going through a non-digital media, it looses corporality, as it enters the virtual world, and gains it back again, distorted and combined.
Humanos v.1 has an installation version. In this version, the hands are gathered directly through a scanner in a gallery or public space, therefore combining on-line users with visitors to the exibhition. This installation was presented on September 21, 2001 at Banff Centre's The Other Gallery, and will be shown at the event "Barcelona Digital", Barcelona May 2002, and in an exhibit curated by Claudia Giannetti in the Centro Multimedia, Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico City, in June 2002.
>>TECHNOLOGIE
Humanos uses a flash 5.0 front-end, combined with a back-end usage of my sql, perl, and vectorizing software in a linux environment. It uses a new way of interaction between flash and perl.
>>HOW TO PARTICIPATE
In order to participate in this project, you must scan your right hand (preferrably) at a resolution of 72pxi, in a 100\\% scale and in color trying to get a detailed image with the principal lines being readable. Save your image in a jpg/jpeg format keeping it under 75k. of memory size.
Once you have your image ready, fill out the submission form and attach it as you would with a file in an e-mail.
Wait for the server to receive your contribution and follow the instructions given in the subsequent pages in order to see how your hand integrates with the other user's hands.
Thankyou for your participation.
>>AUTHORS
Humanos v.1 was created and designed by Lilia P

Lilia Perez Romero
25 March 2002
Legacy descriptive tags
Participatory, Generative, Database, Conceptual, social space, posthuman, identity, body, bio, archive, Perl, Javascript, HTML, Flash, Visual
Attribution: Rhizome staff
Metadata
Variant History
outside link
2001
Lilia Perez Romero
outside link
2001
Lilia Perez Romero