Cloud Archaeology
Exhibited with Studio Technogeographies January 2022
Collaborative project with Weronika Grec & Elin Aspfors
Since the Blue Marble, images of Earth from space evolved from a single-perspective snapshot to a complex, browsable map, most commonly explored through Google Maps. Based on satellite and aerial imagery, the web mapping service provides us with a seemingly could-free, daylit view of the world.
In reality, the atmosphere is a constantly shifting sea of clouds, a vital part of the ecosystem of our planet. In the absence of clouds, this 'Earth' is merely a simplified, more abstract, view of our planet. This new image is made possible by a computed set of processes, one of them being cloud masking.
Cloud Archaeology is an exercise in reimagining the process of satellite imagery creation to include aspects of time and cloud cover.
Focusing on each pixel, clouds are outlined and extracted by hand from Landsat 8 imagery. The installation presents a reconstructed satellite map layered to highlight the superposition of time in cloud-free satellite imagery. The usually discarded clouds are rescued and treated as artifacts.
Through this analog process, the clouds become images in themselves, where meteorological phenomena and ground are combined.
In reality, the atmosphere is a constantly shifting sea of clouds, a vital part of the ecosystem of our planet. In the absence of clouds, this 'Earth' is merely a simplified, more abstract, view of our planet. This new image is made possible by a computed set of processes, one of them being cloud masking.
Cloud Archaeology is an exercise in reimagining the process of satellite imagery creation to include aspects of time and cloud cover.
Focusing on each pixel, clouds are outlined and extracted by hand from Landsat 8 imagery. The installation presents a reconstructed satellite map layered to highlight the superposition of time in cloud-free satellite imagery. The usually discarded clouds are rescued and treated as artifacts.
Through this analog process, the clouds become images in themselves, where meteorological phenomena and ground are combined.