Clare Brooks
Creative Producer, Google Arts and Culture
Art, emotion and ecology; Heartbeat of the Earth: a series of artistic explorations around ecology
Art has always been a medium to convey complex subjects and address challenges we face. For many of us, the term “climate data” conjures up images of complicated graphs and charts, but artists are explaining it through a new lens. Through Heartbeat of the Earth, an artist residency at Google Arts and Culture Lab launched with the UNFCCC, the artist collaborations translate complex climate science and allow us to experience hard data through the senses.
By striving to move away from our anthropocentric views, artists can also create the bridge between our understanding of the world and other species’ understanding - animals, plants, or any element that surrounds us, visible or not. By merging art and technology, we can create a new way of understanding science. We will take a deep dive into one particular experimental artwork: Medusae. We will look at how a collaboration between artist, technology and scientist can open up the interspecies dialogue and allow us to hear what jellyfish can teach us about climate change. Digital visual artist Cristina Tarquini uses an interactive pointcloud visualization to take you into the Mediterranean Ocean. Discover why jellyfish are blooming and the clues their increased populations can tell us about our changing climate.
Through film, interactive technologies and storytelling, Clare's work explores new pathways to converge technology with art. Machine Learning and AI offers infinite possibilities to the experiences art can offer, and creates a powerful force for change across sustainability and social issues. By seeking artistic collaborations with emerging and established artists in a variety of mediums, Clare channels topics that aim to engage audiences in their surroundings, and open discussion on the environment using data, facts and an inclusive narrative. Her work at Google Arts & Culture has enabled her to collaborate with powerful forces in art, environmental issues, social change and perception.
