Living Data contributes to a growing global project to visualise human impacts on natural climate change. Our unique contribution is an evolving visualisation of reality as a vast complex system described in simple lines of human scale. Like a scientific model, an animation is evolving to reflect new knowledge. The animation is presented in various ways in different contexts in order to make climate change visible to more people. Scientists and artists contribute stories, hypotheses, data and iconography. A choreography of primal gestural forms, in dance, drawing and animation, combines scientific and sensory ways of understanding.
Living Data builds on the Antarctic Animation project. The research is practice-based. Animations and other art works are designed. A Blog is maintained to document methods used. On-line peer reviews and comments ensure ethical use of shared material and enable impacts of the work to be assessed. Animations are made that contribute to understanding impacts of climate on people and the environment. This practice exemplifies the shift towards collective knowledge production that is essential to advance understanding of climate change. Core scientific data come from the Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD).
Living Data links with Lynchpin – the Ocean Project which coordinator Sue Anderson explains has been developed “to support research into the significance of the oceans to life on the planet and to encourage arts/ocean science conversations and collaborations that bring these stories to the wider community in new ways”. The scholarship program is endorsed by the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and partnered by the Bookend Trust.
Dr Lisa Roberts
Living Data project leader and website author
Visiting Fellow, University of Technology, Sydney
Environmental Science / Design, Architecture & Built Environment
C3: Climate, Collaboration, Connectivity
This project has created synergy around communicating impacts of climate on humans and the natural world. Like an organism, the idea has grown and metamorphosed, capturing people’s attention, understanding, humour and creativity.
What are you passionate about?
Dr Martina Doblin, Senior Research Fellow
Climate Change Cluster (C3)
Faculty of Science
University of Technology, Sydney
For the message about climate change to be received and understood it needs to arrive in as many different forms as possible. Science, yes. But also climate change as a technological advance; a business opportunity; an economic reformation. Artists need to be recruited to paint climate change; writers need to write about climate change; it needs to be shown through interpretative dance. The message needs to come from different voices from all aspects of our diverse society: sports stars; comedians; accountants; ethnic leaders; church leaders; doctors; lawyers; professional associations.
These messengers, like the scientists at the BoM and CSIRO, need to communicate on repeat. The same message, slightly new format, over and over.
Sara Phillips ABC Environment 14 Mar 2012