Beyond Boundaries

by  Neil Gaikwad (Researcher, Designer, and Artist)

Presence of Absence 

Ars Electronica 2020 the Festival of Arts, Technology, and Society,  "Kepler’s Gardens"   CAMBRIDGE

Citation: Gaikwad "Beyond Boundaries: Towards Symbiotic Relationship Between Ecological Arts and Computational Thinking for Sustainability" Conference Companion Publication of the 2020 on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. 

The fusion of ecological arts and computations to sense the presence of absence on the planet Earth 

Vision:  Fostering a Symbiotic Relationship Between Ecological Arts and Computational Thinking through Human-Machine Alignment for Sustainability

In today’s Anthropocene era, human-and-climate induced sustainability challenges—lobal temperature change, climate-induced displacements, environmental injustice, extraction of natural reserves—threaten the sustainability of our planet and endanger the livelihood of vulnerable communities across the planet.  Beyond Boundaries, a renaissance that re-envisions the relationship between ecological arts and computational thinking to contextualize threats to sustainability at regional and global scales. We establish an integrated framework combining Earth remote sensing satellite time-series, half a decade of ecological arts, and a public exhibition to curate the symbiotic relationship between arts and science. Beyond Boundaries sheds new light on how synergistic associations among disciplines can inspire scientific inquiry, artistic imaginations, and civic engagement-and-discourse for sustainability. 

#sustainability, #computations, #data science, and society, #ecological arts, #remote sensing, #environmental justice, #civic engagement #empathy

A symbiotic relationship between scientific methods and artistic processes. 
Beyond Boundaries harnesses non-anthropocentric perspective, encompassing half a decade of ecological arts, along with historical remote sensing data collected by Earth observation satellites. The ecological artwork captures environmental changes from diverse landscapes, including glaciers of Alaska, agricultural communities of the Western Ghats of India, and deserts of New Mexico. 

Looking back into the Little Ice Age

Experience the presence of absence on the 3,000 years old glacial place 

Mendenhall Glacier

Towards the Beginning of End: Climate Extremes and Retractions of the Glaciers 

Mendenhall Glacier
The aerial photograph published in National Geographic

Nature's Journey Towards the Absence: Sawyer Glacier Calving

Towards the Recreation of the Presence in the Past: Looking beyond the Visible Range of the Artist 

While ecological arts creations help contextualize environmental changes, the artist's eyes can only sense the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum (400 nm-700 nm). Beyond Boundaries recreates the presence of the past by analyzing historical remote sensing data.  

Sawyer Glacier outline. Solid red fill indicates internal rocks. Total area: 196.53 km2, according to Randolph Glacier Inventory (2010-09-19)

Sawyer Glacier: Delving in the past from present 

Revisiting the History in the Present to Experience Void

(left) Landsat 5 satellite cloud-free TOA composite  1985
(right) Landsat 7 satellite cloud-free TOA composite 2018

Sawyer Glacier Timelapse from 1984

Generated with Google Earth Engine 

Beyond Boundaries Exhibition 

A symbiotic relationship between scientific and artistic processes to facilitate inclusive dialogues and civic engagement between diverse communities for sustainable planet. 

Vision, Concept, and Creation