The Body As Data

Commissioned by Counterpoints Arts and Arts Council England, The Body-as-Data Project led by Project Director Sidonie Carey-Green and Lead Artist Tom Tegento aims to connect local communities and those who have experienced forced migration through creative dance practice, walking, and surveillance technologies to come together to mobilise the border of the Kent coast from Margate to Folkestone.

Across the summer of 2024 there were a series of community workshops, site specific walking events and a film which all explore how the ‘body-as-data’ can draw its own border by re-imagining the impact of drone technology and the power of walking practices.

​The aims of the project were to:

• ​Explore the themes of migration and surveillance technologies through dance and movement practices
• Connect local communities in spaces which are heavily affected by migration in Kent
• Create and choreograph a space for the embodiment and agency of marginalised people involved in the project
• Continue exploring the ‘body-as-data’ through practice

The ‘body-as-data’ refers to the process of the body being inscribed into data and vice versa when interacting with surveillance technologies at digital border zones, which ultimately controls onward movement.

One project participant commented:

“I’ve learned so much from the project. The project highlighted the importance of being united. It also taught us that no matter where you come from, no matter where you belong, no matter your race, no matter gender, no matter your religion, we should always stand together, because we all human beings.”

Commenting on the film, one audience member wrote:

“Beautiful images, beautiful themes of connectedness, resistance against erasure in the digital age, defining our own personal borders.”

Another said:

“I thought it was a beautiful dovetailing of joy and freedom, and risk and divide. I think it represented walking the line between lack of agency due to the hostile environment and the hope for the future and freedom going forward.”

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Photo credit: Katy Hutchings / The Body as Data