AfterGlow (Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, ‘Recovered’)

‘AfterGlow (SEIR)’ forms a new expression of a malaria infection transmission scenario, placing the audience in the mosquito’s perspective. Locked in perpetual twilight – prime mosquito blood-feeding time – ‘AfterGlow (SEIR)’ presents a terrain progressively illuminated by glowing trails, evocative of mosquito flight paths. These spiralling forms represent packets of blood, carried by mosquitoes infected with Plasmodium knowlesi, a malaria parasite recently found to jump the species barrier from monkey to human. The infection, left in the wake of macaques, wandering the island in search for food, reveals the intimate relationship between disease and its environment. The spectator is taken on a journey, traversing the island, following the development from clustering luminous spirals to erupting black forms when the disease matures. Where the infection is most dense, we see a blizzard of disease, vividly expressing the complexity of this dangerous scenario.

‘AfterGlow (SEIR)’ is an Animate Projects commission funded by the Wellcome Trust. boredomresearch collaborated with Dr Paddy Brock, a mathematical modeler at the Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow,