Materializing Data, Embodying Climate Change

如果我们可以不受数字屏幕、平板电脑和界面的阻碍，在数据周围走动、触摸、随身携带和体验，我们对气候变化的参与会有什么不同？我们通过科学家收集的数据了解环境的变化。这些材料非常重要，因为它展示了我们的气候是如何变化的，但往往以技术可视化和数字图表的形式传达给公众，这些形式高度抽象，非专业人士难以理解。研究表明，人们对这些信息量很大的方法反应不佳，在最近的民意调查中，只有20%的受访者提到气候变化是一个值得关注的问题。这对我们所有人都具有重要意义，因为了解气候变化对于产生所需的政策倡议和整个社会的个人变化至关重要。我们的研究表明，就像我们通过沉浸在景观和天气中来亲身体验气候一样，如果我们同样以物理形式遇到气候变化的信息和数据，我们对气候变化的参与可能会发生变化。因此，我们的项目寻求开发全新的方式来表现气候变化，将其数据（地质、大气、生物）从数字屏幕上提取出来，并将其转化为实物、艺术品和环境。计算机科学研究表明，当我们看到数据的实体3D打印时，我们理解和参与的能力会增强。这是因为当我们触摸或在真实物体周围走动时，我们会动用更多的人类感官。数据的物理表示不仅可以更好地理解信息，还可以产生新的见解和体验。我们通过结合科学，公共研讨会和理论研究，以实践为基础的艺术和设计调查的独特组合来追求我们的研究。我们的团队汇集了来自中央圣马丁、艺术大学、英国南极调查局、Proboscis设计工作室的经验丰富的研究人员，以及来自伦敦大学伯克贝克分校的计算机科学家。使用3D打印机，我们将气候数据转化为物理结构、物体和环境，其中包括编写数据分析软件，在3D程序中设计物体，以及用一系列可持续材料（木材、树脂、陶瓷）进行实验。研究分为三个阶段，探索尺度、材料和概念上的差异：1)小型手持物体将研究如何使气候数据具有触感；2)更大的基于组件的雕塑反映了地球气候是由相互作用的元素组成的方式3)更大的环境装置发展了关于居住和对气候共同责任的想法我们的目标是通过以下方式产生公众对气候变化的新理解：-开发我们不断变化的环境的新表现和公众体验-在艺术和科学之间产生新的探索模式，以交流共同关注的问题开发新的物理方法/技术来使用重要的气候数据，将产生大量的产出，包括艺术品、软件、行业指南和出版物。我们希望这项研究能引起公众、政策团体、创意产业和追求数据新应用的数字企业家的兴趣。我们方法的关键在于，我们直接让公众参与进来，使他们能够在研究发展的过程中提供反馈和投入。这项活动的形式包括免费的“制造者”工作坊、艺术和科学节，以及在英国各地的重要公共场所举办的众多展览，包括维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆（伦敦）、艺术和创意技术基金会（利物浦）和皇家气象学会（雷丁）。

How might our engagement with climate change differ if we could walk around its data, touch it, carry it with us and experience it unhindered by digital screens, tablets and interfaces?We know about our changing environment through the data that scientists collect. This material is highly significant as it shows how our climate is changing, but tends to be communicated to the public in technical visualisations and numeric diagrams that are highly abstract in form and difficult to understand for non-specialists. Studies have shown that people respond poorly to these information-heavy approaches, and in recent public polls climate change was mentioned by only 20% of respondents as an issue of concern. This has important implications for us all because understanding of climate change is vital to generating both required policy initiatives and personal changes in society at large.Our research proposes that just as we experience our climate physically through immersion in landscapes and weather, our engagement with climate change might change if we similarly encountered its information and data in physical forms. As such, our project seeks to develop entirely new ways to represent climate change by taking its data (geological, atmospheric, biological) off digital screens and translate it into physical objects, artworks and environments. Research in computer science has shown that when we look at physical 3D prints of data, our ability to understand and engage with it increases. This is because when we touch or walk around real objects of dimension and scale, we involve more of our human senses. Physical representations of data not only enable better understanding of information, but also generate new kinds of insights and experiences.We pursue our research through a unique combination of practice-based art and design enquiry in conjunction with science, public workshops and theoretical studies. Our team brings together experienced researchers from Central St. Martins, University of the Arts, the British Antarctic Survey, design studio Proboscis, and computer scientists from Birkbeck, University of London. Using 3D printers, we translate climate data into physical structures, objects and environments, which involves writing software for data analysis, designing objects in 3D programmes, and experimenting with a range of sustainable materials (wood, resin, ceramics). Research develops in three phases exploring differences in scale, material and concept:1) Small hand-held objects will examine how climate data can be made tactile, intimate and mobile 2) Larger component-based sculptures mirror the way that the Earth's climate is composed of interacting elements3) Larger environmental installations develop ideas around inhabitation and shared responsibility for our climateWe aim to produce new public understandings of climate change by:- Developing new representations and public experiences of our changing environment- Producing new models of enquiry between art and science to communicate shared issues of concern- Developing new physical approaches/techniques for the use of significant climate dataWe will produce a substantial range of outputs including artworks, software, industry guides and publications. We expect this research to be of interest to the general public, policy groups, the creative industries and digital entrepreneurs pursuing novel applications of data. Key to our approach is that we directly engage the public in ways that enable them to feedback and input into research as it evolves. This activity takes the form of free 'maker' workshops, a festival of art and science and numerous exhibitions across the UK at significant public venues including the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (Liverpool) and the Royal Meteorological Society (Reading).