A Data driven/ Interactive installation
Pharus is an interactive installation designed to highlight the pressing issue of climate change through visualizing the trajectory of the local climate over the past decades. In the installation’s debut at MUTEK AE in Dubai, the giant 16 feet monolith displays a gradually cluttering data-visualization by applying per capita CO2 emissions, annual CO2 emissions, and surface temperature anomalies from 1959 to 2021.
Pharus’ interaction with the individual audience is a simple defense mechanism. As the viewer approaches the installation, the visualization of the data becomes more intense and chaotic, mirroring the growing urgency of the issue. Pharus makes a point of not just reminding us of a crisis, but rightfully pointing the finger, hoping to invert the collective numbness of our species.
In creating this installation, the artist deliberately chose to keep the visuals minimal, uncluttered, and clear. Pharus is shy and humble, it is simply here on a mission to remind the passing citizens of an ongoing crisis. It wants the audience’s attention drawn to the data itself, not to flashy eye-catching visuals.
The numbers on top of the monolith indicate the year.
The density of the lines are visualizing the CO2 emission per capita and the number of vertical rows indicate the local annual CO2 emission.
The color transition from white to red is indicating the surface temperature of each year in relationship with the CO2 emission.
THE DATA
Per capita CO₂ emissions
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuels and industry
Fossil emissions measure the quantity of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from the burning of fossil fuels, and directly from industrial processes such as cement and steel production.
Fossil CO₂ includes emissions from coal, oil, gas, flaring, cement, steel, and other industrial processes.
Fossil emissions do not include land use change, deforestation, soils, or vegetation.
. Land use change is not included.
Annual CO₂ emissions
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuels and industry. Land use change is not included.
Annual total production-based emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, measured in tonnes. This is based on territorial emissions, which do not account for emissions embedded in traded goods.
Surface Temperature Anomaly
Surface temperature anomaly, measured in degrees Celsius The temperature anomaly is relative to the 1951 -1980 global average temperature. Data is based on theHadCRUT analysis from the Climatic Research Unit
(University of East Anglia) in conjunction with the Hadley Centre (UK Met Office).
The temperature anomaly is measured relative to the 1961-1990 global average temperature. Country-level values were created by averaging all grid cells whose centroids were within the border of a country. Area weighted measures were weighted by the area of the grid cell when averaging the gridd cells and population weighted averages used gridded population data from 2015 created by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network – CIESIN
World premiere at Alserkal Avenue – Dubai-UAE
Jan. 2023
Presented by
Special thanks to
Mehdi Ansari for his dedication and support
Ghazal Majidi for the great help in writing the statement for this piece
Shahin Entezami for designing the sound
January 2023