Spotlight
Spotlight is an interactive data visualization project on the topic of government-imposed internet shutdowns. Although originally created in a book format, it is presented as a poster series for the purposes of this exhibition. This project explores the effects of internet shutdowns, some of their common triggers, and their relation to sensitive events such as protests and elections. The pages are made interactive through the use of glow-in-the-dark paint, which requires the viewer to use a UV flashlight provided to them along with each page to reveal additional information. The glow-in-the-dark-paint was not only an interesting material to experiment with in terms of creating light-based interactions, but it also symbolically complements the storytelling aspect of this project since internet shutdowns are often associated with phrases such as “being left in the dark”. The overall experience aims to replicate a sense of living through an internet shutdown by creating a low-light environment where the viewer is faced with a barrier in order to access some information as it is difficult or at times impossible to access certain sources of information during internet shutdowns.
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