TRANSLATING EARTH

ART // MULTIMEDIA // COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS // ALL WORKS

TRANSLATING EARTH, Michelle Xen, 2017, installation composed of LED network, live data feed, brushed aluminium, haze.

TRANSLATING EARTH is an ongoing collaborative installation series utilising custom lighting and environmental data streaming.

Michelle Xen and lighting designer Richard Candy collaborated with Mat Johnson, programmer to translate a range of environmental data sources.

“We took an accelerometer and threw it into the ocean, wondering if the data could translate any of the visceral and physical experience of standing on the shore. This first iteration, or experiment, taught us that data can shape shift in translation, as we trigger an installation of light and sound. I can only hope to imagine the types of sculptures, songs or stories the earth might make with sensing instruments placed in wild spaces. We will keep learning to listen and invest in interesting translations. Sure, AI can write a song, but how might a deeper landscape generate an alternative. We will keep working…”

Michelle Xen

Supported by Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) City of Gold Coast in partnership with Arts Queensland.