“I’m obsessed with the idea of data pigmentation or fluid dynamics, which is a very common aesthetic in my work [whereby] hundreds of millions of molecules touch and transform each other in a non-Newtonian manner.”
—Refik Anadol

"The relationship between simulation, reality, and the quest for understanding is largely a reflexive one. In the stories we tell and the worlds we build, we continually construct mirrors that offer meditations on our identity while simultaneously becoming a part of nature itself. As Philip K. Dick says, 'Reality is that which doesn’t go away when you stop believing in it. A simulation is that which doesn’t stop when the stories go away. Stories are responsible to our human desire for resolution, but a simulation is responsible only to its own laws and initializing conditions. A simulation has no moral, prejudice, or meaning. Like nature, it just is.'

 

Black Sea is a kinetic data sculpture that explores the organic interaction between representation and reflection. Using high frequency radar collections provided by Turkish State Meteorological Service of the Black Sea, this piece aims to highlight the symbiotic interplay of technology, art, and nature in relation to humanity’s quest to push the limits of possibility. Our modes of representation and inquiry become a part of our natural world, reflecting and augmenting our perceptions of reality. In our quest for resolution, stories offer us a simulated environment that are in fact just as real as nature itself. The transformation of this sea surface data collection becomes then not just a means of visualizing information, but rather a transmutation of our desire for understanding into a poetic experience.

 

The artwork is specially prepared by Refik Anadol for Innoprom trade fair held on 8-11th of July, 2019 in Yekateringburg, Russia. It underlines the specific importance of Black Sea for Turkey and Russia. The preparation and display of Black Sea artwork is supported by Turkey Promotion Group (TPG)."¹

 

 

¹The Artist's Works Archive, online.