Baden Pailthorpe
Clanger (Longitude, Latitude, Velocity)

Using anonymous player and crowd data captured during the 2017 AFL Round 23 Swans v Carlton game, Clanger (Longitude, Latitude, Velocity) re-stages the drama and flow of each players’ position and performance data. Pailthorpe moves the game from the field to the virtual plane, rendering the players floating digital sculptures.

In statistical terms, the word ‘clanger’ refers to a turnover or a silly mistake made by a player in an AFL match. The criteria for each player’s usefulness is defined wholly by the data they generate during the game. AFL players are tracked using micro wearable units that include GPS and accelerometers. The amount of data generated from these devices in a given game is immense; every movement is tracked, stored and interpreted in an effort to understand performance, mitigate injury and measure value.

Clanger results from Pailthorpe’s Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT) 2017 Synapse Artist Residency with UTS Sport and Exercise Science and Professor Aaron Coutts.

Courtesy of the artist and Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney|Singapore. Supported by the ANAT Synapse Residency Program, with funding from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.