Animated installation turns global challenges into art for Sydney Festival

An art installation that maps out some of the biggest global challenges of our time has been unveiled in Australia.

Exhibition

EXIT, 2008-2015 View of the installation EXIT. Collection Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris. Source: Supplied

'Exit' is a 360 degree animated map painting a bleak picture of a world in crisis, facing unprecedented challenges posed by climate change, natural disaster and migration.

The installation was commissioned by the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art and the foundation's curator, Thomas Delamarre, says it aims to take data, which is often seen as dry and clinical, and bring it to life, immersing the viewer.

"It uses data that is sometimes quite dramatic... I mean the whole chapter on the political refugees on the crisis happening around the world like in Syria is dramatic, but its also a way for us to raise awareness," he told SBS News.

The exhibit opened in Paris, where it was viewed by world leaders attending the COP21 conference on Climate Change in 2015.
UNSW Galleries Director Felicity Gennder said it was a significant work for Australian viewers.

"Its exciting but also an important thing for Australians to see - in some ways we're a little bit cocooned from some of the big issues in the world," she said.

And there's another message in the montage that also feels close to home.

It highlights the cultures and languages around the globe that are in danger of extinction - about 3500 of them, including Australia's Indigenous communities.

Projects such as My Grandmother's Lingo - backed by SBS - are trying to ensure their survival.

The exhibition opens this week as part of the Sydney Festival, before heading to Melbourne.

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Published 4 January 2017 5:44pm
Updated 5 January 2017 10:42am
By Brianna Roberts


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