BETWEEN THE LINES
Sarah Selby (2023)
Between the Lines photo: George Torode
How can we foster a human-centred approach in an increasingly digitised immigration system?
Between the Lines highlights the power of bureaucratic systems and the risk that using algorithms within UK immigration and justice services could further disconnect individuals from the decisions made about them. Automated decision-making and AI can reduce human experiences to statistical risk ratings. How can we ensure that well-being and dignity of individuals remain at the core of our evolving digital systems?
Set up as a lab space, this installation combines traditional administrative tools with DNA data storage technology. It seeks to reintegrate the lived experiences of people affected by faceless, bureaucratic systems back into the systems themselves.
As this ongoing research project evolves, testimonies from people detained will be encoded into synthetic DNA, embedded into writing ink, and inserted into pens. The pens will be distributed to individuals working on the frontline of UK immigration control.
CREDITS
Commissioned by Science Gallery London
Artist: Sarah Selby
Collaborators: Donna-Louise Cobban, staff and volunteers at Beyond Detention; Cari Hyde Vaamonde, The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London; Daniel Chadash and team at Twist Bioscience; and anonymous individuals navigating the UK immigration system.
SARAH SELBY Sarah Selby is a visual artist and academic who uses software, programming and emerging technologies to explore digital culture, posing critical questions about its societal, ethical, and environmental ramifications. Her work focuses on human-machine assemblages, examining how different technologies mediate our behaviour, interactions, and experiences. Website / Instagram