Installation using Java, OpenGL, and
Processing software
12' (370 cm)
high, 29' (8.8 m) diam.
Exit builds on curator and cultural
theorist Paul Virilio’s notion that what
most defines humanity today are our
patterns of migration. The installation
visualizes the global movement of
people, both forced and voluntary and
due to various factors (whether political,
economic, and environmental), through
a series of six panoramic narratives
displayed over the course of 42
minutes. In the introductory sequence
(opposite, bottom), a globe spins around
the room, leaving trails of population
statistics. In Remittances (opposite, top),
money sent by migrant laborers to their
nations of origin is tracked by country.
Population Weather (top) displays recent
population shifts in a stark white-on-black
graphic that resembles a seismograph,
with peaks signaling growth and
trenches locating decline. In Population
Density (center), a matrix-like landscape
of rapidly changing green numbers draws
attention to the fastest growing cities.
In Political Refugees (bottom), waves
of green pixels represent mass exodus
from areas of war. Natural Disasters
(not pictured) presents the relative
magnitude and effects of droughts,
floods, and other catastrophes from
1990 to 2008. And in Rising Seas, Sinking
Cities (not pictured) a projected map of
the world glows brighter in areas with
the highest concentrations of carbon
emissions. Data and geography are thus
fused in multidimensional and dynamic
maps, and the design of the theater and
installation wraps viewers in a universe
of information, transmitting a sense
of global scale and immediacy. Exit was
commissioned by the Fondation Cartier
pour l’art contemporain, Paris, as part
of Terre Natale, an exhibition in 2008.
