Author Archives: Alexander Saier

Bringing the science of climate data to life through art

Some of the most dramatic climate-fueled changes on our planet are happening in places most of us have no way of visiting. And while data and charts are important, nothing can replace the human experience of witnessing life first-hand.

That is where art comes in. Throughout history, artists have used their work to take people to faraway places and shed light on deep challenges facing humankind. In an important continuation of that legacy, today artists Refik Anadol and female collective Hyphen Labs are asking questions like “What would we see if we scanned the earth for damages?” and “How will we feel the cascading effects of melting ice sheets?”

They offer an answer in two new online artworks published today as part of ourHeartbeat of the Earth program. This program, from Google Arts & Culture and UN Climate Change, invites artists to interpret scientific climate data through interactive online artworks.

These new artworks add to the eight published works since the programstarted in 2020, with the goal of making the data behind the climate crisis more accessible and visible.

“With the impacts of climate change accelerating and becoming more evident every day, it’s more important than ever to engage artists and to use culture as a vehicle for the urgent message around the climate crisis,” said Ovais Sarmad, deputy executive secretary of UN Climate Change. “Complex science and data needs to be displayed in an emotional way, allowing us to understand how global heating impacts us all individually and collectively.”

MRI of the Earth— what would we see if we scanned the Earth for damages?

Artist Refik Anadol interprets our planet’s 'body’—exposing the harm we are inflicting on it through climate change. Anadol then invites you to reflect on the Earth’s beauty through machine learning generated visualizations of the Earth’s natural landscapes and inspire actions for a hopeful future.

Insidious Rising— How will we feel the cascade effects of warming ice sheets?

Global female artist collective Hyphen Labs, together with Iñupiaq (indigenous from North Alaska) artist Allison Akootchook Warden and the Union of Concerned Scientists, explore the cascade effects of warming polar ice sheets and how a warming climate will not only trigger ecological collapse, but also put pressure on existing systems that already disproportionately affect the marginalized.

We hope these artworks will encourage people to learn more about the climate crisis and inspire action.

Heartbeat of the Earth: interpreting our planet’s data

What can Jellyfish teach us about climate change, what happens to disposed plastic and what species will be lost as temperatures rise? As these questions mount, artists are helping us to see and understand what the data makes clear.

A year ago, and in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture we (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC) launched “Heartbeat of the Earth” - four  interactive and educational experiments by artists exploring scientific climate data. 

 Today, as we approach Earth Day, we’re sharing a new set of climate experiments created by artists Giorgia Lupi, Felicity Hammond, Cristina Tarquini and Sey Min. They invite you to learn about the challenges our climate faces through creative data visualisations and interactive scenarios that help us learn more about these topics.

Plastic Air experiment

Plastic Air - What happens to plastic when we dispose of it?

Plastic degrades into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics which then end up within the air we breathe. Data artist Giorgia Lupi (Pentagram) and her team visualise these particles, giving you a lens through which to ‘see’ and to explore the plastic particles that are ever-present in the atmosphere around you. Explore the impact ‘Plastic Air’ is having on the environment and our own health too.


Medusae experiment

Medusae: What can Jellyfish teach us about climate change?

Digital visual artist Cristina Tarquini uses pointcloud visualisation to take you into the Meditteranean Ocean. Discover why Jellyfish are blooming and the clues their increased population can tell us about our changing climate.

Impact Filer experiment

Impact filter: What species will be lost as sea levels rise? 

Artist Sey Min has created an impact filter for you to explore & discover what we might lose as temperatures rise. Sey Min has trained a machine learning model on thousands of Google Search images, clustering by the type of species. As you increase the temperature you can discover what happens to 62 different animal species - and reveal the new anthropocene species, or waste, we leave behind.

The Lagoon experiment

The Lagoon - a fictional coastal city


In this durational 8 minute video collage, artist Felicity Hammond depicts an imaginary coastal city that slowly submerges in water over 80 years. The landscape, created with approximately 50 photographs of locations around the world that are most at threat of flooding due to climate change, is erased by water until completely submerged.

These artist projects translate complex climate science data and allow us to experience hard data through the senses. The projects will be showcased at United Nations Climate Change events throughout the year and will add a new dimension to the conference experience. 

Find out more via g.co/heartbeathoftheearth or on the free Google Arts & Culture app for iOS and Android.