Living Artworks - Earth observation climate land artworks
Google Earth - NASA Landsat 9 technologies
2021-present
Sylvia’s groundbreaking earth observation climate art series produced in collaboration with Rural Association for the Betterment of Agropastoralists and Kofele community (Ethiopia), climate artists, and with support from C40 Cities - Women4Climate, Dundee - UNESCO City of Design, British Council, and KPU. Living Artworks marks the first known and on-going artworks created specifically for viewing in Google Maps. It has since been supported by NASA in terms of education and with further support offered by the International Space Station.
Living Artworks is part of a large-scale project illustrating that land rehabilitation and media/satellite monitoring doesn’t need to be expensive. By using an under-utilized digital media channel, Google Earth Satellite, for art – the artists and Kofele participants in Ethiopia are challenging our perspectives on how climate mitigation can combine both climate science and art together to address and monitor today's climate challenges. The establishment of a tree nursery and the specific planting of a portion of tree sampling in aesthetic forms has created the world's first earth observation climate artworks.
Google Earth - NASA Landsat 9 technologies
2021-present
Sylvia’s groundbreaking earth observation climate art series produced in collaboration with Rural Association for the Betterment of Agropastoralists and Kofele community (Ethiopia), climate artists, and with support from C40 Cities - Women4Climate, Dundee - UNESCO City of Design, British Council, and KPU. Living Artworks marks the first known and on-going artworks created specifically for viewing in Google Maps. It has since been supported by NASA in terms of education and with further support offered by the International Space Station.
Living Artworks is part of a large-scale project illustrating that land rehabilitation and media/satellite monitoring doesn’t need to be expensive. By using an under-utilized digital media channel, Google Earth Satellite, for art – the artists and Kofele participants in Ethiopia are challenging our perspectives on how climate mitigation can combine both climate science and art together to address and monitor today's climate challenges. The establishment of a tree nursery and the specific planting of a portion of tree sampling in aesthetic forms has created the world's first earth observation climate artworks.
This project has also directly assisted in community continuing to expand the establishment tree nursery in Kofele, Ethiopia to grow more native flora and to develop further artistic forms (living artworks) at home farms for satellite tracking. With Kofele community members continuing to author living artworks to improve soils and animal habitats - these actions are future-proofing communities from climate issues such as excess rain runoff to erosion. As much as 83% of water can be condensed from the atmosphere by trees. The planting of seedling trees helps give rise to a dynamic system that can assist in carbon capture and in water restoration services.
Creation of 'living artworks' visually reinforce the critical nature of earth systems and gives communities with limited digital infrastructure abilities to self-monitor on mobile phones through Google Earth how native flora plantings can increase and restore local ecosystems. 'Living artworks' are templates and call for actions for global communities to plant their own trees in flora patterns that can be recorded by satellite. Such processes can are giving other communities extended climate and biodiversity monitoring tools. To date 'living artworks' have been planted in New Zealand, USA, South America as part of this project forming a 'plant graffiti' movement - creating large scale flora plantings for satellite viewing.
In the future we should ask ourselves not so much about 'How much rainfall impacts an area? But rather 'What tree cover is in our home cities, villages or farms?' It's a fact that trees help amplify water and clean air resources and satellite-art can assist us to understand our immediate and future impacts in improving places for flora and fauna
Through this project Sylvia remains committed and interested in challenging the presentation parameters of how art can be used for building both climate infrastructure (carbon sequestration and biodiversity sites) as well as creating and expanding forms of contemporary land art. She is also inquisitive in the way we frame land rehabilitation, perceptions of viewing culture and screen-based mediation in relation to farming as well as community care and engagement .
Awards
2022
Finalist - Lumen Futures Prize (London, UK)
Jurors: Christiane Paul, Adjunct Curator, Whitney Museum, New York City; Silke Schmilke, Curator, Moving Image, M+, Hong Kong + London; Melanie Lenz, Digital Curator, Victoria and Albert Museum; Nathan Ladd, Assistant Curator, Tate Britain
Short-listed finalist - Falling Walls Foundation (Berlin)
REVIEWS
2022
‘Could a plant based artwork seen from space help save the Ethiopian Lion?’ BBC Earth - Instagram story, May 22, 2022
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdqXDNiodTe/
Hassan, Farah. ‘Ethiopia: biodiversity, quality of life, soil erosion and runoff. Earth Art studio’s Trees for Life,’ Lampoon Magazine, Italy, March 10, 2022.
2021
‘A Lion-shaped Plant in Ethiopia May Be Able to Warn Us of Climate Change Dangers’ News18, India, Dec 08, 2021.
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/a-lion-shaped-plant-in-ethiopia-may-be-able-to-warn-us-of-climate-change-dangers-4531742.html
‘A lion-shaped plant nursery in Ethiopia will be visible from space and will warn of climate change dangers’ The Star, Malaysia.
13 Dec 2021 https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2021/12/13/a-lion-shaped-plant-nursery-in-ethiopia-will-be-visible-from-space-and-will-warn-of-climate-change-dangers
‘Ethiopian Artist Restoring The Environment Through ‘Plant Graffiti,’ Addis Insight Magazine, Dec 07, 2021.
https://addisinsight.net/ethiopian-artist-restoring-the-environment-through-plant-graffiti/
Anania, Billy. ‘In Ethiopia, Artists Protect the Environment Through “Plant Graffiti,’ Hyperallergic Magazine, New York, Dec 06, 2021. https://hyperallergic.com/692602/ethiopia-lion-land-art-climate-change/
Kiunguyu, Kylie. ‘Ethiopia is using plant graffiti to regenerate degraded forests,’ This is Africa, May 22, 2021
https://thisisafrica.me/politics-and-society/ethiopia-is-using-plant-graffiti-to-regenerate-degraded-forests/
In the future we should ask ourselves not so much about 'How much rainfall impacts an area? But rather 'What tree cover is in our home cities, villages or farms?' It's a fact that trees help amplify water and clean air resources and satellite-art can assist us to understand our immediate and future impacts in improving places for flora and fauna
Through this project Sylvia remains committed and interested in challenging the presentation parameters of how art can be used for building both climate infrastructure (carbon sequestration and biodiversity sites) as well as creating and expanding forms of contemporary land art. She is also inquisitive in the way we frame land rehabilitation, perceptions of viewing culture and screen-based mediation in relation to farming as well as community care and engagement .
Awards
2022
Finalist - Lumen Futures Prize (London, UK)
Jurors: Christiane Paul, Adjunct Curator, Whitney Museum, New York City; Silke Schmilke, Curator, Moving Image, M+, Hong Kong + London; Melanie Lenz, Digital Curator, Victoria and Albert Museum; Nathan Ladd, Assistant Curator, Tate Britain
Short-listed finalist - Falling Walls Foundation (Berlin)
REVIEWS
2022
‘Could a plant based artwork seen from space help save the Ethiopian Lion?’ BBC Earth - Instagram story, May 22, 2022
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdqXDNiodTe/
Hassan, Farah. ‘Ethiopia: biodiversity, quality of life, soil erosion and runoff. Earth Art studio’s Trees for Life,’ Lampoon Magazine, Italy, March 10, 2022.
2021
‘A Lion-shaped Plant in Ethiopia May Be Able to Warn Us of Climate Change Dangers’ News18, India, Dec 08, 2021.
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/a-lion-shaped-plant-in-ethiopia-may-be-able-to-warn-us-of-climate-change-dangers-4531742.html
‘A lion-shaped plant nursery in Ethiopia will be visible from space and will warn of climate change dangers’ The Star, Malaysia.
13 Dec 2021 https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2021/12/13/a-lion-shaped-plant-nursery-in-ethiopia-will-be-visible-from-space-and-will-warn-of-climate-change-dangers
‘Ethiopian Artist Restoring The Environment Through ‘Plant Graffiti,’ Addis Insight Magazine, Dec 07, 2021.
https://addisinsight.net/ethiopian-artist-restoring-the-environment-through-plant-graffiti/
Anania, Billy. ‘In Ethiopia, Artists Protect the Environment Through “Plant Graffiti,’ Hyperallergic Magazine, New York, Dec 06, 2021. https://hyperallergic.com/692602/ethiopia-lion-land-art-climate-change/
Kiunguyu, Kylie. ‘Ethiopia is using plant graffiti to regenerate degraded forests,’ This is Africa, May 22, 2021
https://thisisafrica.me/politics-and-society/ethiopia-is-using-plant-graffiti-to-regenerate-degraded-forests/