Zoe Hatziyannaki   

 

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THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT DATA  (E3)
2024



The Day the Earth  Caught Data unfolds in a series of several episodes that attempt to create  fictional narratives about the end of the world, using different tourist locations. The material is from online sources, using satellite images from Google Earth and  screenshots from Photosphere, developing in interactive installations. Constant surveillance practices on Earth’s surface, frequent use of mapping apps, as well as incessant sharing self-referential content online, compliments tourism’s already significant part in climate crisis. The work unfolds in a series of different ‘episodes’ attempting to draw parallels between a widely shared, seemingly uncomplicated reality and a troublesome fiction where the image-makers become storytellers of their own unsettling future. The title is a reference to post-apocalyptic film “The Day the Earth Caught Fire” (1961) and each episode suggests a dystopian scenario, aftermath of the intense human presence and the constant use of digital media that accompanies it, wondering if  the end of the world might come from our own visual representations of it.



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Episode 3 of The Day the Earth  Caught Data was an interactive installation involving audience participation using primarily online material shared by different users through Google Street View Photosphere. The research is focused on Jökulsárlón, the famous glacial lake in the southern part of Iceland, which is undergoing unprecedented changes due to global warming.  The use of the satellite images generated by Google Earth along with screenshots taken from the online photos shared by the visitors in Google Earth’ Photosphere, construct a different, more dystopian narrative. The landscape resembles that of another planet, or that of a doomsday movie setting, where the individuals strolling around look lost, exhausted and disoriented amidst the melting glaciers and barren, uninviting surroundings. The audience was encouraged to participate, by taking their own selfies on the mirror opposite the printed backdrop.






The Day the Earth  Caught Data (E3) was part of the group exhibition “Navigating” at The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik as part of Head2Head Festival, co-curated by Eleni Tsopotou.

Print on canvas (2.80x1.00m. satellite images from Google Earth)
Slideshow on monitor (Screenshots from Photosphere Google Street View)
Mirror (1.50x0.60)
Volcanic stones.