PROCESS / FORMAT—INTERACTIVE IPAD APPLICATION. SIZE—N/A : QUANTITY—N/A : DATE—10 / 2011 CREATIVE DIRECTION : DOUG AITKEN DESIGN AND DATA VISUALISATION : PETER CRNOKRAK APP DEVELOPMENT : MERI MEDIA AVAILABLE FOR FREE FROM ITUNES AWARD—WEBBY 2012 IN EXPERIMENTAL MOBILE & APPS. |
DESCRIPTION—DOUG AITKEN’S ALTERED EARTH APP TAKES THE VIEWER ON A SURREAL AND HALLUCINOGENIC JOURNEY. CREATED ENTIRELY IN ONE REGION, THE DESOLATE CAMARGUE AREA IN SOUTHERN FRANCE, ALTERED EARTH CREATES A DISTINCTLY MODERN EXPLORATION OF LANDSCAPE AND THE SPACE BETWEEN MAN, NATURE, AND TECHNOLOGY. THE CAMARGUE’S MYSTERIOUS QUALITY IS THE SETTING FOR ALTERED EARTH : A NATURALLY SCULPTED LAND EMITTING A ROUGH BEAUTY AND UNIQUE INDIVIDUALITY. THIS IS A SETTING WHERE GERMAN BUNKERS ARE BEING RE-CLAIMED BY MIGRATORY BIRDS AND AFRICAN WINDS SPREAD THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA OVER SHALLOW LAGOONS REVEALING SALT MINES THAT APPEAR LIKE CRYSTAL LANDSCAPES FROM ANOTHER WORLD. THIS IS A LANDSCAPE IN TRANSITION, ONE THAT FEELS DEEPLY NATURAL AND SIMULTANEOUSLY FUTURISTIC, IN A WAY DISTANTLY CONNECTED TO THE FILMS OF ANDREI TARKOVSKY OR THE WRITINGS OF J.G. BALLARD. ALTERED EARTH USES THIS UNIQUE LANDSCAPE TO EXPLORE A NEW EXPRESSION OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD. THIS ARTWORK REFLECTS ON OUR RELATION TO LOCAL AND GLOBAL GEOGRAPHY IN THE DIGITAL AGE AND CREATES A NEW KIND OF MAP. IT EXPANDS THE CONCEPT OF “PLACE” INTO A LIMITLESS DIGITAL UNIVERSE WHILE OPENING WINDOWS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF LANDSCAPE. WITHIN THIS APP YOU ARE EMPOWERED TO CREATE YOUR OWN JOURNEY THROUGH A BIZARRE AND EVER-CHANGING LANDSCAPE UTILIZING DIFFERENT FORMS OF MEDIA. BY CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF IMAGERY AND SEEING IT IN DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS, YOU ARE ABLE TO PROJECT YOUR OWN STORY AND PLOT. © 2012. |
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