Artwork

An artistic reproduction of a satellite image of the earth, a spot light that shines over it representing the sun… And floating umbrellas: they represent aerosols deployed by man in the higher atmospheric layers to reflect the light back to space.

This installation represents a satellite image made of bits and pieces of textiles, different in colour and texture, to convey an impression of the different uses man makes of the planet (forest, agricultural land, urban settlements, and water bodies). Umbrellas other than giving structure, colour and dynamics to the installation, should convey a sense of an artificial intervention on a natural system, in an attempt to modify a natural process to obtain the desired effect.

Should the effect of global warming and consequent climate change become unbearable, geo-engineering proposes to seed the higher atmospheric layers, the stratosphere, with aerosols that should reflect the sun light back to space. Or, alternatively, giant reflectors put in orbit should act in the same way. Other interventions, such as extraction of carbon from the atmosphere and storage underground or in deep sea, are also considered as Geo-engineering.

What remains unsolved is the side effect that such a human intervention can produce on the Earth System. We know the high level of interconnection that exists among the various elements, which make the Earth System: air, water, land and life. But we do not yet master the actual and complete workings of the complex connections between the various sub-systems.

Additional details

Installation of a satellite image of the earth reproduced by Stefano Galmarini, Nicoletta Sacco and Greet Maenhout.