Heatmaps are made up of layers and layers of an existence, each layer tracing where interactions or intrusions have been made at a single point in time — like immortalizations of certain realities. While heatmaps existed and were used before the use of computer instruments (Toussaint Loua in 1873 drew a shading matrix to visualize social statistics across the districts of Paris, possibly the first heatmap ever made), today, heatmaps are understood to as a tool for optimizing web conversion rates, viewing weather patterns, or demonstrating concentrations of activity in living objects. Maps depicting temperature differences on smaller objects, such as a metal pipe, are also used to practice stress analysis’, a common practice for testing the integrity and durability of physical objects. The relation between heatmaps and stress analysis only seems to exist in the physical plane.

What would applying concepts of stress analysis on a different plane look like? What equates to stress-analysis in the digital realm? Applied to a digital object, a CAD model, a PDF document, a photoshop file, or an Ableton Live plug-in? What if photo-elasticity existed on websites that were engineered poorly? At it’s surface this could look like web scalability and bandwidth tests, but also invites either a (1) hybrid fantasy world where objects on screen meet the laws of the physical, or (2) a new approach to understanding the longevity of digital objects.