The three chapters of Saturation Trailsreveal the architecture of the digital image through direct material interaction with image sensors, the now ubiquitous photosensitive semicondcutors which transduce light into voltage in our digital cameras. The project appropriates three techniques from optoelectronic manufacture and testing: pulsed lasers, acid etching and x-ray radiation.
The laser tests exposed a variety of compact camera image sensors to laser pulses fired in a horizontal line across their surface, inscribing a permanent horizon across the image. As the power of the laser increases, the vertical columns of the sensor are broken revealing the grid by which the image is produced. The objective lens of the laser apparatus was reflected onto the image folding cause and effect together. As the sensor is increasingly damaged the camera's attempts to normalise the exposure also become visible.
