Kasia Molga, Scanner and GROW Observatory bring soil data to life in this online networked digital artwork
In By the Code of Soil – a new artwork developed as part of the GROW Observatory – FAULT LINES artist Kasia Molga and sound artist Scanner are connecting the soil with the sky.
Launching on World Soil Day (Weds 5th Dec) – visit www.codeofsoil.com to join the network and hear the soil speak!
Did you know that twice daily the European Space Agency’s flagship satellite, Sentinel-1A, passes over your head? As it passes, Sentinel-1A maps the land and sea, capturing things like forestry, agriculture and weather conditions to support climate prediction modelling. Across Europe, thousands of GROW Observatory soil sensors have been deployed by citizens to improve the accuracy of these observations from space. Now, to help bring that to life, artists Kasia Molga and Scanner have worked with the GROW Observatory to represent the connection between soil and space through a unique, data-driven digital artwork.
“By the Code of Soil is about handing power over to the land – to soil – and depicting it as a first and foremost living organism; not as a resource whose capacity must be maximized for our own benefits. Soil, with all its myriad of processes happening there all the time, is like a matrix of the computer – an invisible force and organisational structure binding all components of the biosphere together.”
— Kasia Molga, Artist
By the Code of Soil can be experienced at the precise time Sentinel-1A passes above your head. The uniquely generated audio-visual manifestation draws on data from soil moisture sensors installed in the nine GROW Places.
The GROW Observatory is helping satellite science develop more accurate climate models, weather maps and predictions, and enabling small scale growers to improve the sustainability of food production.
We need you!
By the Code of Soil is available to download from Weds 5 December – World Soil Day. Just head to www.codeofsoil.com and download the app to join the network.
When the download counter hits 1,000, the artwork will suddenly emerge across the network, appearing on everyone’s computers at the same time to create an exciting, shared sense of occasion.
After the landmark launch, By the Code of Soil will appear in different forms on your screen whenever Sentinel-1A is overhead, connecting you with invisible networks above and below.
“In times of uncertainties and transitions we need to pay attention to that which is invisible, possibly more than to what is in front of us. This invisible, working quietly in the background, often has much more significance to what is happening and how it will impact the world as we know it in the near future.”
— Kasia Molga, Artist
Launched on World Soil Day 2018, By the Code of Soil runs until October 2019, when the GROW Observatory project draws to a close.
Created by Kasia Molga and Scanner and GROW Observatory, and produced by FutureEverything, the work was developed as part of VERTIGO STARTS. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 690199
With thanks also to Dan Hett and Erik Overmeier.
