Although there are older data sculptures (see our entry 1995 – Loren Madsen’s Early Data Sculptures), this installation from artist Ethan Ham may have been the first artifact to be called a data sculpture. In 2005, Andrew Vande Moere, a Design Professor and author of the now discontinued data visualization blog infosthetics, described the installation as: an art installation that automatically creates physical data sculptures, using spam & e-mail as data to trigger the sculpting […]

In this museum installation, four tons of (possibly fake) oil dramatically drop into a three-meter-tall glass tube in four seconds, showcasing the vast quantities of oil Kuwait produces. The liquid is pumped back up and dropped again every five minutes. The inscription on the tube reads: Wait for the oil drop! Every second of every day, Kuwait produces this much oil. This installation is part of the Ahmed Al Jaber Oil & Gas Exhibition, a permanent exhibition located in Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, […]

Data materialization is a workflow developed to create 3D objects from data-informed designs. Building upon traditional metalwork and craft, and new technology’s data visualization with generative art, this workflow expresses conceptually relevant data through 3D forms which are fabricated in traditional media. The process allows for the subtle application of data in visual art, allowing the aesthetic allure of the art object or installation to inspire intellectual intrigue. This entry […]

In the Materialism series, the Dutch duo Studio Drift takes apart technological objects and use cubes and prisms to convey the raw materials they are made of. Although those data sculptures are conceptually physical rearrangements (see our other entries on physical rearrangements), the artists actually weigh the different components and create the prisms from scratch using new material. This new material often only looks like the original material due to practical constraints. Left image: […]

The 100 Year Climate Yarn is a large, crocheted Data-Art wall-hanging which tracks the daily maximum temperatures in Adelaide, South Australia over a 100 year period from 1920 to 2020. Textile Artist Sandra Lepore worked with Energy & Climate Specialist Heather Smith to plan the work using colours carefully selected to emphasise extreme temperatures. Sources: www.facebook.com/myclimateyarn/ www.instagram.com/myclimateyarn/ Related: Also see our entry 2013 – Temperature Scarves and Afghans […]

The “Flood Necklaces” embeds flood history data of the river Loire in the city of Orleans. Each ball of clay is sized according to the water heights measured on flood scales between 1800 and 2003, in the city of Orleans. Data is from the Region Centre-Val-de-Loire (DREAL), for floods between 1804 and 2003. The biggest flood recorded happened in 1866, and impacted most rivers and regions of France. It was such a major event that a report to the Emperor has been written to estimate the damages […]

There’s a fantastic plant phylogenetic tree display at the Geneva Botanical Garden with live examples growing at the tips of the evolutionary branches. This display was part of an exhibition open from 20 May 2021 to 17 October 2021. Sources: Quote and photo: tweet by Marko Kaksonen Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de Genève (2021) Le grand bazar de l’évolution – Grande exposition sur l’évolution de la vie sur terre (archived version). Related: Also see our similar entry 2018 – […]

The prompt for the 27th day of the 2021 #30DayMapChallenge was ‘heatmap.’ I looked at corn production in the US - just the lower 48. The data is from USGS and it was made with 3 bags of candy corn. Source: Jill Hubley Related: Also see our other entries on visualizations made of food.

Making with Data is a physical data-driven papercraft sculpture that serves as the cover of the book, “Making with Data: Physical Design and Craft in a Data Driven World.” The paper waves of the piece reflect the undulating word counts of each of the book’s 24 chapters. Each of these chapters tells the story behind the creation of a physical object, space, or experience that represents data — with the artists and designers who crafted the piece explaining the unique and creative process through […]

Sea ice is frozen ocean water that is most commonly found near the poles in the Arctic Ocean and Southern ocean around Antarctica. Sea ice plays a critical role in regulating the ocean circulation, thereby influencing the global climate. Abnormal melting of sea ice brought forth by warming temperatures leads to changes in global climate making it important to study the fluctuations in the sea ice extant. Scientists use different methods to study sea ice which include observations and climate […]