GINGER DATA (DIGITAL), 2014-2015

21st May 201625th May 2016

Data Visualisation: 500 Gingers (Lines by hair colour)

It took me almost three years to photograph over 500 gingers. In the last year after exhibiting this body of work in my first solo exhibition, I began to further analyse and collate the data that came from these portraits. I had already ‘classified’ the gingers by hair colour (Strawberry Blonde to Dark Auburn), so have now regimentally structured them by eye colour, skin colour and freckle density. Each column of the table represents an individual and their distinctive classification. The pantone strips above are the pseudo-scientific instruments used to place each person within the respective categories. This rather fascist act of grouping and reducing people to a colour or a type is intentional, however, the whimsical and beautiful composition of the coloured squares offset a critical tension in the work.

Since exhibiting I collect gingers, I began to develop an interest in data; how it can be visualised and interacted with; and how this process pushes my original, satirical intention of classifying and reducing people to a statistic, colour or type. I began to further analyse and collate the data that came from these 500 portraits. A pantone chart is used to assign each individual their hair colour, eye colour, skin colour and freckle density value. Each number represents an individual and the combination of six squares following indicates their distinctive classification or statistical signature. During a 2 week online residency with Floating Reverie (http://floatingreverie.co.za/), I aimed to visualise the data of the 505 gingers in different ways.

See http://2weeksap.tumblr.com/ for online residency.

500 gingers visualised by hair, eye, and skin colour, and freckle density (exhibited on Absa L’Atelier Top 100)