Ripple Effect
Outputs from this project
Awards & Recognition:
Information is Beautiful Gold Award Winner https://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/6320-ripple-effect
Lumen Prize for Art & Technology Shortlist
Biosphere E-STEAM Residency
Publications:
Nature Article: “Communicating environmental data through art: the role of emotion and memory in evoking environmental action” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-023-02459-3
ACM Article: “Ripple Effect: Communicating Water Quality Data through Sonic Vibrations” https://dl-acm-org.eux.idm.oclc.org/doi/10.1145/3450741.3464947
Exhibited At:
Hidden Door Art Festival; Edinburgh, Scotland https://hiddendoorarts.org/event/dorsey-kaufmann/
South by Southwest Festival; Texas, U.S. https://sxsw.arizona.edu/person/dorsey-kaufmann
Inspace Art Gallery; Edinburgh, Scotland Information+ Conference https://informationplusconference.com/2023/#exhibition
Istituzione Fondazione Bevilacqua; Venice, Italy https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/content/cities-future-living-together
The Duderstadt Gallery; University of Michigan, U.S. https://www.dc.umich.edu/2021/07/15/ripple-effect/
Biosphere 2; Arizona, U.S.
Ripple Effect is an interactive installation that physicalises local water quality data through sound, light, and water.
Through data sonification, water contamination data is translated into sound waves. The installation consists of speakers that play the ‘data sound tracks’, which vibrate the water held in attached trays. The sonic vibrations create unique patterns to emerge in the water, known as water cymatics.
Participants hear and see the water vibrate based on the chemical concentrations found in their water samples.
Ripple Effect travels to communities that neighbor industrial activity and mining waste and aims to transform the way people understand their data in relation to their environment.
Collaborators: University of Arizona
Funder: National Science Foundation’s Division of Research on Learning—Advancing Informal STEM Learning Program, grant number 1612554
Project dates: 2019 – 2025
