“Intangible Cartographies"
Euskalduna Urban Hall, Bilbao, Spain

29/12/2022 to 04/02/2023

The sustainability of our planet is seriously threatened. The footprint that humans have exerted on the Earth in recent centuries has stressed the fragile ecosystem that makes it up to such an extent that we are endangering the continuity of many species. Already in the midst of the Anthropocene, specialists recognize human actions as responsible for such degradation: climate change, pollution, loss of forest mass, etc...; the greater the planetary connectivity, the greater the environmental impact.

Intangible Cartographies shows us the latest research by Esther Pizarro Studio, where the artist investigates environmental emergencies. Relying on science, on the evidence of data and using technology, her installations try to activate consciences and questions and to sensitize the viewer on issues that affect us all.

The exhibition is articulated around three major installations developed in recent years.

Space Debris :: Waste Constellations analyzes and evidences the huge swarm of space debris that revolves around the Earth in its four main orbits, identifying the eleven powers responsible for the exponential accumulation of debris, classifying and categorizing the data extracted from scientific sources.

Space Debris :: Waste Constellations, 2021
Wooden fiber, fiber optics, mirror methacrylate, transparent methacrylateTechnology: Leds WS2812B (51 und), transformer (10 und), arduino nano (30 und), microprocessor ESP 8266 (28 und), motion sensors HS0501SR (30 und), ultrasonic sensors HS04 (14 und), release KY009 (50 und), 8 segment display TM1637 (44 und), wifi router, speakers and amplifier
Set: 1150 x 1150 x 95 cm (h) // 44 platforms, diameter (20-50 cm) and height (50-95 cm)

[MAFD] :: Mapping Active Fire Data is part of an artistic research consisting of a cartographic, dynamic and interactive visualization of the forest fires that have ravaged the earth's surface over the past decade. The project makes visible the wounds caused on the earth's surface by the fires that are continuously active.

[MAFD] :: Mapping Active Fire Data © 2018
Fiberboard, borosilicate rod, Leds (WS2812B), Enttex Pixelator Mini, Plink Injector (7 pcs.), transformer (7 pcs.) Wooden fiber, methacrylate, leds, arduino, touch screen, transformer. 40 x 40 x 109.5 cm (h) /unit

Liquid mapping :: connected to... visually represents the underwater, and therefore invisible, cartography of the cable network that allows global data traffic around the planet. Starting from the geographical limits of the Spanish territory, the data that have historically made it possible for our country to be connected to the rest of the world since the advent of the Internet have been filtered.

Liquid Mapping: Connected to... © 2017
Borosilicate tube, colored electroluminescent cable, sound, LED screens, 600 x 275 x 50 cm (h)

The exhibition proposal immerses us in cartographies that allow us to analyze environmental problems, intangible and invisible to our eyes, but real and threatening. It is time to act, to take responsibility, and art offers us a disruptive look.

CREDITS ::

Conceptualization: Esther Pizarro
Production: Esther Pizarro Studio
Technology and programming: Markus Schroll
Photography: Markus Schroll
Organizers: Euskalduna Palace, Grupo Intermedio
In collaboration with: Ponce+Robles Gallery
Coordination: Raquel Ponce, Iñaki Alonso, Olga Iradier, Begoña Arraitz
Exhibition mounting: Esther Pizarro Studio, Markus Schroll, technical team Grupo Intermedio

Additional information Space Debris :: Waste Constellations © 2021

Additional information [MAFD] :: Mapping Active Fire Data © 2018

Additional information Liquid mapping :: connected to... © 2017