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SciArt: Science art society

The Tipping Point - for NaturArchy catalogue

Tipping Point installation view
Installation view The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point is a data driven light and sound kinetic installation of 24 custom metronomes and a video projection. The artwork highlights the urgency and the increased risk that one or several tipping elements in the climate system might cross a critical threshold, with severe consequences for global climate, ecosystems and human societies. 

The metronomes move, driven by sets of past, present and projected future, environmental data linked to five major climate tipping points. The temporal journey through data is reflected by the metronomes' tempo, as the beats intensify over time. A final cacophony reflects the mounting urgency of the climate crisis. Then, all metronomes halt abruptly, and a critical tipping point is reached as the room falls silent. 

The title, The Tipping Point, is singular as it refers to the tipping point that society is approaching. As such, the aim is for visitors to realize that now is the time to take collective action.

24 custom metronomes, environmental data, visualizations

Yiannis Kranidiotis In collaboration with: Frank Dentener

 

Yiannis Kranidiotis

Yiannis Kranidiotis is an artist whose work explores the relationship between science and art using mainly light, motion and sound to create spaces and experiences where all coexist and interact. He is interested in physical phenomena like the harmonic oscillation, the natural repeatability and the wave movement and also in exploring and transforming scientific data, like the properties of the exoplanets or the solar wind. The increasing pollution of the planet with plastic and the effects on the oceans and on the environment in general are issues that also affect his practice. Many of his works include motion and inter- action where others include data processing and sonification methods. This requires cross-disciplinary work with sound, visual arts, coding, electronics and physics. His work has been presented in many festivals and exhibitions. He has a BS in Physics from the University of Patras and an M.Sc. in Optics from Essex University.

Website

Instagram: @yanniskra

Frank Dentener

Frank Dentener works since 30 years in the field climate change, agriculture and atmospheric pollution. Frank is senior expert and group leader at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. He completed a Ph.D. in Physics with Nobel prize-laureate Paul Crutzen at Utrecht University. He is member of the scientific advisory board of the JPI FACCE, and co-chair of WMO’s Scientific Advisory Group on near-real-time applications, member of the WMO Model Measurement Fusion initiative, and he has served on a variety of international commissions. He has (co-) authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and 4 IPCC reports, Hirsch factor 96, and is a Clarivatehighlycitedscientistsince2015.Frankheldassistant professorships at Wageningen and Utrecht University, the Nettherlands, PrivatDozent at the ETH in Switserland, and currently affiliated with the Politechnical University of Torino. He supervised and examined ca. 10 Ph.D. and Habilitation candidates. Frank is an expert in atmospheric chemistry land interactions, including ozone impacts on agricultural production systems, and climate change and mitigation and adaptation.

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