Continuing the research first developed by Jessica Sarah Rinland in her exhibition Extramission: The Capture of Glowing Eyes, this lecture-performance will further explore the technologies used to make images of animals and the aesthetic and political implications of these forms of capture. Taking National Geographic photographer George Shiras III’s invention of the infrared camera trap as a starting point, it will unravel the ways in which capture, conservation, documentation and surveillance have been intertwined throughout the history of animal photography.

The performance is in collaboration with Conservators at Natural History Museum, Tanya Nakamoto, Fabiana Portoni, and Principal Curator of Mammals at Natural History Museum, Richard Sabin.

Performed at Open City Documentary Festival, May 2025