In the 2013 Errol Morris documentary, Unknown Known, Donald Rumsfeld describes a method of communication, research and action based on the allegory of ‘snowflakes’. On his personal website The Rumsfeld Papers, Rumsfeld further defines the methodology by declaring that the snowflakes were “A system of communication with the employees of DoD (US Department of Defense), as I would initiate a topic with a short memo to the relevant person, who would in turn provide research, background, or a course of action as necessary. In the digital age it was much easier to keep the originals on file so I could track their progress. They quickly grew in number from mere flurries to a veritable blizzard. The term “snowflake” covers a range of communications, from notes to myself on topics I found interesting, to extended instructions to my associates, to simple requests for a haircut. There was no set template; some are several pages and some just a few words.” Rumsfeld states that when reviewed together the snowflakes not only provide an insight into the day-to-day activities of a US Defense Secretary but also offer a larger panoptical view of the role of ‘defense’ within the Bush government. To coincide with my fellowship exhibition as a Stanley Picker Fellow, I will adopt the allegory of ‘snowflakes’ as an opportunity for mapping my own research focus on institutional environments designed and constructed for training. The performance also included anecdotes that acted not only as supporting research but also as internal agents within a number of commissioned projects. Presented as a two-screen performance, including edited newsreel footage, commissioned photographs by David Spero, project images and videos from Unknown Unknowns 2010 the lecture adopted Donald Rumsfelds research and mapping allegory of ‘Snowflakes’. The lecture performed a forty-five minute script timed to coincide with the mixing of visual media on two plasma screens placed strategically within the ICA auditorium. The script included anecdotes from my research archives that acted not only as supporting research for my practice but also as internal agents within a number of commissioned projects.