The Big Smoke takes visitors on a journey through time and space, with a central theme: air pollution.
The expression "The Big Smoke" evokes a big city and the pollution associated with it.
The artwork draws on the colour code of the forecast maps to modulate the tint of the light sources (cold/good > hot/extremely bad).
The project uses air quality data, through an overall index including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter and fine particles.
The simulation images are generated with Artificial Intelligence, such as Stable Diffusion.
Through AI, my ambition is to explore our relationship with our environment in a speculative and forward-thinking way.
The artistic vision is deliberately colourful and bright, even joyful.
The gravitas of the subject is faced with this paradoxical representation, creating a shift that enhances the message and prevents rejection at first sight.
The aim of the project is twofold,
— raise awareness: to provide a tangible way of visualising intangible data (pollutant levels detected by measuring stations, patterns: levels change according to daily activity, season, GPS position, etc.).
— take the drama out of it: to question our collective imagination and open up the discussion of possible alternatives (soft modes of transport, greening, insulation, etc.).
