Christos Panagiotou (2022)
Visual weather [visual microclimate] (2022) is a project that collects and combines data from various meteorological stations in Cyprus to visualize weather variability.
Weather data is algorithmically merged and then transformed into visual forms that are projected into the gallery space. The slightest change in the weather conditions results in a complete change in the projected forms. The forms are almost impossible to be repeated.
Materials:
water pipes [or wood in 2023 version], threat, digital data, projection The project is a new media installation. The primary body of the installation consists of a cube approximately one cubic meter in which threat (thin strand) lines are hung. A projector projects an image of shapes and colors that change in accordance to the outdoor weather conditions.
Data:
The weather conditions were sampled from different rural, semi-woodland, and forest areas in Cyprus on different days of the year and times of the day. The exact locations are Eptagonia, Pentalia, Koilani, Prodromos, and Kyperounda.
In particular, we have stored weather data collected by weather stations in the abovementioned locations (temperature, wind direction, and sunlight intensity). The data were imported in Processing 3 [or Processing 4 in 2023 version] software and converted into visual forms later projected onto the cube.
The shapes were created by using the following formula: sin (t / temp) * 100 + sin (t / sunlight) * 100 + sin (t / wind_dir) * 100; cos (t / temp) * 100 + cos (t / sunlight) * 100 + cos (t / wind_dir) * 100.
The work creates a sense of space that abstractly resembles a forest. The cubic shape of the work alludes to the concept of the “Oikos” (Greek for house) (eco) from which ecology as a word is derived. Also, it is a statement that ecology is an intimate situation. The project aims to convey an indoor visual “microclimatic” impression of the forest. Τhis impression of the microclimatic conditions expressed visually can show how subtle changes in the climatic conditions can significantly impact a forest. This project informs about climate change. We often hear about a change of 0.5 or 1 degree Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius in temperature, and intuitively we consider it a small change. In reality, a 1-degree change has enormous direct consequences on the ecosystem and multiple chain effects. Ultimately, the project aims to convey the impression of the changing climate. A 1 degree Celsius change in the temperature results in a noticeable change in the light conditions in the installation. That makes the 1 (or less) degree change noticeable, thus conveying a visible picture of the climatic crisis. Title: Visual weather Materials: Projection The project is a new media installation. A projector is used to project the image of abstract shapes and colors that are formed by visualizing live data taken from a weather station located in Kyperounda near the Troodos forest. A weather station is installed to store weather data (temperature, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, and dew point) in an internet-based cloud service. The computer receives the weather data in .json format and analyses it with Processing 3, converting it into the projected visual forms.
