This thesis is about enactments of 'seeing' and how objects are made visible through digital imaging practices. Situated within a context of microscopy imaging and nanotechnological research, I investigate how seeing is tied to both the physical and digital acts of handling, moving or altering an object that is considered to be invisible. Utilizing an observational study of a nanotechnology lab and an environmental science facility. I look at purification, tinkering and touch as three specific manipulation practices that enact 'seeing'. As well as investigating the context of the lab, I also examine how images travel to other contexts where they are re-rendered for competitions and art-science collaborations. I argue that the necessity of these various practices for producing visibility demonstrates the importance of manipulation during imaging, and how seeing is an enactment, produced in and through material discursive acts. The project extends previous research in science and technology studies (STS) which has examined the situated and context-specific activity of scientific imaging, and also further elaborates on recent investigations into the role of gesture, embodiment and touch as a requirement for seeing. Overall, by drawing attention to acts of manipulation, this thesis highlights the role of hands and bodies in the production of scientific visualizations, further problematizing ideas of separation between subject/object and observer/observed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:618812 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Tomomitsu, Jennifer Nicole |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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