Making a mark
​on the Earth

3D point cloud of WAS HERE with Terrestrial Laser Scanner

WAS HERE (2022, DSM Dyneema®) is an installation serving as a metaphor for sea-level change. Geologist David Lagomasino and artist Gabe Duggan tracked Duggan's embodied location through the process of installation via RTK, to be juxtaposed with related data, via systems such as TLS and satellite imaging. Data around this work considers ways in which art might both respond to, and challenge pre-existing, science around this important topic.

Adding to a lineage of space-claiming, in theory dating from pre- to post-history (cave painting, geoglyphs, graffiti, hashtags, geotags, data flotsam and jetsam), WAS HERE is a mark made upon the datasphere, existing beyond the lifespan of the physical work itself.

Sonification of Satellites

EcoOrchestra translates this satellite imagery into music in a process called data sonification. In other words, it translates digital information into sounds or music. Data sonification has traditionally been translated in a temporal fashion. This means that data collected in one spot over time is converted to sound.  There are many nice examples of this; telling the story of climate change, listening to the data collected in the river over a day, listening to the growth of trees.  EcoOrchestra works multiple dimensions. Each layer of the image can then be represented by a different instrument, and the numbers from the data can be converted to pitch where larger numbers represent higher pitches and lower numbers represent lower pitches.  The rhythm is then controlled by the frequency, or how many times the data values show up. The algorithm, or computer code, that translates the satellite data is highly customizable, so we are able to change the instruments, the rhythm, and the way the data is read, resulting in a unique musical experience with the click of the mouse for anywhere in the world.