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Vivid Sydney for the data art enthusiast

Vivid Sydney is back from May 26 to June 17 and will be pushing more boundaries than ever – from poetic multisensory installations dealing with complex neurological conditions, to panel talks guaranteed to keep you at the edge of your seat.

by Nicole Pierre

Vivid Sydney is back from May 26 to June 17 and will be pushing more boundaries than ever – from poetic multi-sensory installations dealing with complex neurological conditions, to panel talks guaranteed to keep you at the edge of your seat.

Here are our picks. 

Ideas

Vivid Ideas is bound to provide more thought-provoking and exciting discussions than ever, spanning from talks on exploring art in the algorithms, and insightful career development advice for creative professionals, to industry updates from thought leaders like award-winning director Oliver Stone and founder of Buzzfeed Jonah Peretti.
 

Art & algorithms – coding to create

This panel talk moderated by Dr Martin Tomitsch from the University of Sydney’s Design Lab will feature key game-changers in Australia’s digital creative space. Computer-generated algorithmic art is not a new phenomenon (it’s been around since the 1960s), but we’re hoping for some stimulating conversation on the marriage of creativity and computer science. Special guests include the engineering community manager at Google Australia, Sally-Ann Williams, and co-founder at Rising Sun Pictures, Wayne Lewis.

Have your Notes apps (or notebooks if you’re old school – we’re not judging) at the ready for discussion on future of AI-made art.

When: 6 June
Time: 17:30-20:30
Where: International Convention Centre
 

How to champion innovation in your team and the workplace

The business of creativity is serious stuff. We expect industry thought leader and founder of The Ideas Bodega, Nicole Velik to instil some of her creative wisdom. Useful for those of us with big ideas but unsure on how to translate them into real actions. Nicole teaches that you don’t have to work at Google or Facebook, just to get your creative ideas heard and realised. We’re looking forward to hear her tips and advice on how arts professionals like ourselves, can also embrace innovation in our workplaces.

When: 8 June
Time: 11:00-13:00
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art
 

Battle of big thinking

Nine advertising execs will be at loggerheads in the ‘Battle of big thinking’, challenging conventional thinking in the marketing & communications sector. Get inspired with what pioneers in the advertising and communications industry have to say, featuring creative director at J. Walter Thompson, Jay Morgan, and chief strategy officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, Kate Smither.

When: 6 June
Time: 17:00-19:00
Where: Museum of Contemporary Art

Lights

Chromesthesia

Chromesthesia is defined as a neurological condition in which heard sounds involuntarily evoke an experience of colour. Duo Harry Hock and Jonathon Bolitho explore a condition which is so difficult to put into words for those living with chromesthesia, into a poetic body of work filled with aural imagery. Some prolific artists who had this condition include Vincent Van Gogh, David Hockney, and Wassily Kandinsky. The installation features a shipping container where participants enter and experience bands of colour that correspond to a specific sound frequency. We challenge you to drop from your preconceived judgments, and unconscious bias’, to immerse yourself in an enthralling multi-sensory experience.

When: 26 May to 17 June
Time: 18:00-23:00
Where: The Rocks
 

Landscape of the mind

Natalie Robinson and mental research institute, The Black Dog Institute team up to create a thought provoking installation named Landscape of the mind. It involves a series of life-sized human sculptures are scribbled with body maps which were drawn by participants in a real study conducted by the Black Dog Institute. Robinson aims to challenge society’s negative stigma of mental health through giving participant’s the rare opportunity to enter others’ personal experiences of anxiety.

When: 26 May to 17 June
Time: 18:00-23:00
Where: Campbell’s Cove
 

Future city smart city

If you’re planning to dodge the crowds in the CBD, head to Chatswood's concourse to view animations of airborne homes and water farms harvesting clouds. A multi-sensory experience is created to offer viewers a glimpse into not only a future world of possibilities and the Internet of things – but also one that is sustainable. Despite the project seeming like rhetoric of the government’s ‘Smart cities plan’, the installation actually raises important questions for everyday citizens to think about what sustainable living means to them.

When: 26 May to 17 June
Time: 5:30-10:30
Where: Chatswood

 
 

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3 Creatives Bringing Data To Life

From colourful pie charts to wearable data, it is no secret that data visualisation is making data more accessible to everyone.

by Nicole Pierre

Data and statistics are not the sexiest subjects to talk about - and some data can be downright intimidating. In a world where we are constantly inundated with information from news channels to social media feeds, it is tempting to switch it all off.

But thanks to data visualisation, statistics are becoming more accessible - and more interesting - to us all. The human brain is known to process visuals 60,000 times faster than text and designers all over the world are getting on board, using their creative skills to bring data to life. From colourful pie charts to wearable data, we love seeing what happens when art and numbers collide. 

Below, we take a look at 3 creatives who are taking data visualisation to the next level.
 

David McCandless

British information designer and data journalist David McCandless is at the forefront of data visualisation. Trained as a designer and writer, David is a native creative. What’s more, he proudly wears his geeky data journalist hat around.

David’s interest in data visualisation is based on his desire to communicate the facts. David says, “I’m interested in how designed information can help us understand the world, cut through fake news, and reveal the hidden connections, patterns and stories underneath.” He adds, “Or, failing that, it can just look cool!” His inforgraphics often illustrate multiple, divergent perspectives on an issue. 

He now leads a small team with the goal of helping everyone make better, clearer, more informed decisions about the world. 

His two beautiful infographic books - Information is Beautiful and Knowledge is Beautiful - are both worth a read, and his Ted Talk on The Beauty of Data Visualisation has had over 2 million views. 
 

Stefanie Posavec

Have you ever considered wearing data art? Designer Stefanie Posavec has created wearable data objects including a necklace made of perspex geometric shapes. Despite the vibrant colours, the artwork deals with issues concerning climate change and air pollution in Sheffield, UK – known for its high rates of air pollution.

The necklace is based on data from sensors measuring high levels of particulates – that is matter in the Earth’s atmosphere, which can have damaging effects on human health.

Stefanie aims to challenge viewers to contemplate the impact of air pollution on our bodies. “Since particulate matter damages the heart and lungs, we felt a neckpiece was an appropriate way of communicating this data,” Stefanie says.

Stefanie is also one-half of the Dear Data project - a year long analog data drawing project with Giorgia Lupi, which captures the daily reflections of two information designers living on different sides of the Atlantic. Worth a look. 
 

Mona Chalabi

Some are born talented with both words and numbers, like Mona Chalabi. She is the data editor of The Guardian US, as well as a columnist at New York Magazine. Instead of food and coffee pics, Mona’s Instagram is filled with her own data sketches – known for being both satirical and informative (and often related to taboo bodily functions!). Her data sketch comparing the taxes for sanitary products among 20 countries went viral in 2016.

Have a browse of her illustrations or watch this Ted Talk on 3 ways to spot a bad statistic. 

Which data art creatives do you follow? We’d love to hear from you.

Be inspired and stay informed by subscribing to our monthly Culture Insight & Innovation Update to hear the latest industry research and news.

 
 

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