Klyft, 2022
p5.js, custom software
Click to load imageAn image of a black and white Klyft showing on a large vertical screen at Despace Berlin.
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Click to load imageAn iteration of Klyft showing two flowery shapes in pink on a black background.
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Click to load imageAn iteration of Klyft showing two pointy shapes in orange on a dark blue background. There's a lot of orange glitches layered on top.
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Click to load imageAn image of a blue and pale white Klyft showing on a large vertical screen at Despace Berlin.
To reduce website CO2e emissions, project images need to be manually loaded.
Click to load imageAn iteration of Klyft showing a flowery shape on top and a pointy shape on the bottom. The shapes are in pale yellow on a black background. There's some yellow glitches layered on top.
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Click to load imageAn image of three Klyfts showing on a projector at Despace Berlin. There's wine and champagne glasses in the foreground.
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Click to load imageAn iteration of Klyft showing two chaotic shapes in black on a light grey background. There's very few black glitches layered on top.
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Click to load imageAn iteration of Klyft showing three long green shapes on a light grey background. There's a decent amount of green glitches layered on top.
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About
Klyft is an ecofeminist temporal visualization of gender equality and climate change.
The work is a juxtaposition of two different projections for the future. One, made by the World Economic Forum, suggests that the global gender gap will have closed by the year 2154. The other, by the UN IPCC, estimates that global warming will reach 3.2 degrees celcius by the year 2100.
Klyft makes use of the unique temporal aspect of computational art by developing its expression gradually over the next 132 years. As we come closer to 2154, the space between the two shapes in Klyft will grow smaller to symbolize the closing of the gender gap. As time goes on, however, Klyft also becomes more and more glitched out to represent the projected increases in greenhouse gases and climate catastrophes.
In the end, Klyft's expression will be heavily corrupted, but the two shapes will have reached each other.
Klyft uses time and glitches as visualizing elements to highlight the interconnection between the fight for gender equality and the battle against global warming.
Both of these struggles are marked by a very long timerange. In discussing the climate crisis, there is often talk about projections going into the years 2030, 2050, 2100 and sometimes even longer. In their report on gender equality, the World Economic Forum show that global gender equality is also a project whose conslusion is not exactly right around the corner.
By visualizing both projections at the same time, Klyft brings into view a single conclusion: the projected year of global gender equality will be a year with climate change run amuck. This can be clearly seen when setting the date for Klyft to the year 2154 by adding date=2154-01-01 to the URL. The visualization now shows two shapes that have merged into one, but they are incredibly obscured by glitches.
In contrast to this bleak prospect, Klyft provides a small encouragement in its real-time changes. These changes show that it is not too late to act on the climate crisis. Time and climate change marches on slowly in Klyft, but the work is yet to be inundated by glitches.
Klyft shows us directly that these two issues must be acted on simultaneously. One cannot happen without the other. Research even shows that gender equality measures can reduce CO2e emissions by 68.9 gigatons by 2050. This can happen specifically by providing universal access to quality education for all children, and access to voluntary family planning services.
Klyft is made with p5.js and licensed under a modified version of the Climate Strike License (CSL). The data behind the project comes from the UN IPCC and the World Economic Forum. It was initially created to be showcased in the Tezos & fxhash booth at Art Basel Paris+.
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Find Klyft on fxhash hereExhibitions
- —Group show. Sublime Shift @ NFT Biennial, Berlin, London, Tokyo, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Online.
- —Group show. Tezos & fxhash @ Deloitte Arts & Finance, Vatican City.
- —Group show. Tezos & fxhash @ Art Basel Paris+, Paris, France.