About SENSITIVE DATA

The project Sensitive Data aims to draw attention to the potential narrative and emotional components in the current discourse about statistical data and information analysis. The project seeks to create an emotional communication channel between the city and its inhabitants, emphasizing the importance of understanding the city as a living collective entity with which we have a continuous and personal exchange of information.

From an artistic practice perspective, the goal is to explore the mechanisms by which raw data can be translated into sensory and emotional experiences. Additionally, the project aims to establish a point of contact between the new media art scenes in the visiting cities, as well as between current and future professionals in the field.

The project Sensitive Data: 47.0227 N 28.8353 E is a continuation of the initiative implemented in Bucharest and is based on the methodology and practices developed during the first iteration of the project in Bucharest. Sensitive Data: 47.0227 N 28.8353 E facilitates the emotional and sensory reception of the city of Chișinău through the artistic interpretation of data on vital city issues such as air quality, mobility, noise pollution, information flow, food sources, and climate.

Five digital art and new media installations aim to create a bridge between data and the public through a multisensory experience that engages sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. These five works are the result of a data collection and interpretation lab conducted in a collaborative process between artists from Bucharest and students from Chișinău, culminating in an exhibition at the National Museum of Art of Moldova.

Context

The presence of technology in most human activities, from governance to private life, has opened up the possibility of monitoring and storing vast sets of data. These data are used statistically to provide a macro view of human activities, their effects, and to identify behavior profiles at the individual level. The topic of open data offers opportunities for creativity and the exploration of deeper meanings that transcend mere statistical significance. How does the individual relate to the immense amount of data? Is it truly accessible to them? Can the interpretation of certain public data change perceptions on specific subjects? How does subjective perception intervene in a field dominated by scientific interpretations? Can artistic creation mediate the relationship between the individual and statistical information?

International

Data-driven digital art is an established phenomenon in the field of new media arts. Artists like Ryoji Ikeda, Refik Anadol, and Ben Fry have defined the style of data-driven art. In 2023, the Ars Electronica festival, through its FutureLab, launched the Data Art & Science Project, where artists and data specialists prototype projects in the immersive space of the center – Deep Space 8K. Meanwhile, artists like Olafur Eliasson, Anish Kapoor, and James Turrell have created works with a strong sensory impact.

Local

In many urban environments, there is a significant lack of data, studies, and holistic approaches to address and make transparent the complex challenges they face. This scarcity of accurate data leads to anxiety and detachment among residents, hindering active participation in urban life. Relying solely on global data to draw local conclusions can result in inaccurate representations, as local contexts and nuances may not align with broader trends.

Sensitive Data aims to draw attention to the potential narrative and emotional components in the current discourse on statistical data and information analysis. The project seeks to create an emotional communication channel between the city and its inhabitants, emphasizing the importance of understanding the city as a living collective entity with which we have a continuous and personal exchange of information. From the perspective of artistic practice, the goal is to explore the mechanisms by which raw data can be translated into sensory and emotional experiences.

The Sensitive Data project develops a methodology and a series of processes for creating new media artworks based on urban data that can be replicated in other cities. The goal of providing a holistic and immersive experience of the various aspects of the individual’s relationship with the urban environment can also be pursued in other cities across Europe. The project can thus become a catalyst for emotional connections with the inhabited urban space, regardless of its location. It can lead to the development and refinement of methodologies as well as a deeper awareness, which in turn can give rise to new relationships, research, productions, and new media art projects.