Capturing Commonalities: FLIR T-Series is the Camera of Choice for this Artist

Linda Alterwitz is a visual artist based out of Las Vegas, Nevada who aims to blend art and science to create new ways of celebrating the human experience and bringing people together. Exhibiting since 2011, her work has included portraits, collages, and immersive installations featuring pieces captured using traditional cameras, x-rays, MRI scans, and thermographic cameras.

Alterwitz first used thermal images for art in 2012, creating her collection “Heat: Portraits of the Invisible World”; a series of thermal portraits she captured using a high-resolution FLIR T1020 camera­­­. The multimedia artist says she used thermography’s abstract visual qualities to reveal our similarities while stripping the subjects of the social identifiers that separate them.

Axel" from the series Heat: Portraits of the Invisible World, 2023

"Jenna" from the series Heat: Portraits of the Invisible World, 2019

“Radiating from each portrait are the biological commonalities that unite us—breath, sweat, inflammation and the warm circulation of blood,” Alterwitz says on her website. “The thermal camera enables me to present an alternate vision of what a portrait can be—one that’s void of prejudice by having stripped the markers that trigger habitual responses.”

Alterwitz continued experimenting with thermal imaging in her recent series, “Injection Site – Making the Vaccine Visible”. The exhibit is currently on display at the LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada and one of its pieces was even featured for a New York Times cover. The artist initiated the project in 2021 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and has collected more than 180 portraits of vaccination injection sites.

Inflammation that is typical after vaccination appears as dark splotches that cover the upper arm, but the results vary wildly from person to person. Some subjects have large, clearly defined areas of inflammation while others could show little no signs at all. Alterwitz hopes that focusing in on these differences can spark a conversation around the differing opinions on vaccines and create empathy in both those for and against them.

"Marvin" Two Days Post-Injection, from the series Injection Site, 2022

"Sheyenne" Three Days Post-Injection, from the series Injection Site, 2021

“I think art offers an easier way to delve into difficult topics,” Alterwitz explained. “Some people had spotted arms, some people had big blotches, and some had nothing; it just reconfirms how unique we are. I was glad that this project was able to help people delve into talking about [vaccines].”

While she has been working with thermal for more than a decade, Alterwitz still finds excitement in the technology. “The hardest challenge is getting through the fascination and hone in on what you’re trying to say,” Alterwitz said. “Thermal is always on my mind, it’s still amazing to me, and it’s still my camera of choice.”

For more information and more on Linda Alterwitz’s work at here website here.