Christian Nold's Bio-Mapping project is a social project exploring an individual's uninhibited response to place by inviting people to go for a walk in the area around Southern Exposure using a "bio-mapping" device that can be checked out of the gallery. This device measures the participants Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), a simple indicator of emotional arousal, as well as tracks their physical location using a Global Positioning System (GPS). The data collected from each participant is immediately downloaded and used to create an emotion map locating the various levels of excitement during the walk. Instead of security technologies that are designed to control our behavior, this project envisages new tools that allow people to selectively share and interpret their own bio data.

For the first two weeks of April (4/1–4/14), Christian Nold will work out of the gallery every Thursday and Friday from 12:00 to 5:00 PM and encourages visitors to stop by and use the bio-mapping devices. During the third week of April (4/15–4/21), Christian will be in the gallery on Friday, April 20 from 12:00 to 5:00 PM. This will be the last day to participate in the Bio-Mapping project! During the final week of Christian's residency, he will produce a San Francisco map using the data collected from the project participants. These maps will be available in the gallery by early May. Please stop by and pick one up!

Every Saturday from 2:00 to 4:00 PM he will conduct intensive workshops where he and participants will engage in a broader dialog around their experiences. All participants are invited to share their thoughts at the gallery or on-line. The data from each individual emotion map will be compiled into one larger map visually locating where the collective high and low arousal points exist in the city that will be widely distributed.

To order a San Francisco Emotion Map please contact Southern Exposure at 415-863-2141.