Anthropic cloud

Predicting future events has always been one of humanity's greatest ambitions, exemplified by weather forecasting through the study of atmospheric phenomena. In the 1950s, the first automated meteorological prediction was established with the construction of a generic flight simulator for the military aviation. The aim was to assist pilots by providing a kind of weather prediction system, reproducing possible weather conditions.

Man has altered the climate through pollution, artificialization, and imitation of many natural phenomena. Anthropogenic clouds are created from data generated by human activity: they are artificial clouds caused by condensation trails from vehicles forming along flight paths. Clouds are both a poetic element and harmful; as long-term studies have shown, skies are becoming increasingly cloudy due to condensation trails.

Every day, thousands of planes connect cities like metallic rivers along global trajectories. Real-time air route visualization sites, captured by a network of amateur trackers, show us the countless aircraft incessantly crossing the sky.

Although algorithms are a matter of opaque complexity and often dubious morality, in this case, they contribute to publicizing the problem, albeit without solving it. The artwork aims to give dimension to a phenomenon far from our perception; the cloud is indeed created by a network system that provides access to knowledge and disorients us.

Credits: 
CG Design: Ottavio Mannarino
Sound Design: Davide Anzaldi