Power Tool (2019) was the first in a series of iterations, exploring the role of the proxy in designing tools for making protest accessible. Created in solidarity with Disabled People Against Cuts, and commissioned as part of Hito Steyerl’s Power Walks series at the Serpentine Gallery, Power Tool seeks to reimagine the relationship between power and presence in the context of direct action and Disability Justice.
Power Tool was formed of two parts; a limited edition set of custom harnesses for the subversion and wearing of mobile devices; and the design and development of a grassroots video conferencing software (pre-dating the popularity of Zoom / Teams) that facilitated on the ground British Sign Language, Audio Description and Live Subtitling. Through this, onsite participants were able to livestream in remote protestors, and begin to move and protest in tandem with each other.
All access provisions were provided by the community onsite at the protest – through a network of interconnected mobile devices. On the ground informal palantypists produced live subtitles for remote protestors, whilst dedicated onsite protestors ensured BSL Interpreters were in frame and Audio Described the demonstration.
