Data Sculpture Visualises Climate Change

We’ve reported on weather data visualisation before on PSFK, but Mitchell Whitelaw has adopted a long view to meteorological information in his recent data sculpture Measuring Cup.

The sculpture casts each year of Sydney Meteorological data as one horizontal layer of the cup, with the bottommost representing 1859 and the rim of the cup encompassing 2009. The piece accomplishes a subtle reflection upon the increasing impact humans now have upon the planet.

Whitelaw explains:

“The punchline really only works when you hold it in your hand. The cup has a lip – like any good cup, it expands slightly towards the rim. It fits nicely in the hand. But this lip is, of course, the product of the warming trend of recent decades. So there’s a moment of haptic tension there, between ergonomic (human centred) pleasure and the evidence of how our human-centredness is playing out for the planet as a whole.”

The Teeming Void