The Skin of the Earth

Personal project ·

A tactile and sonorous experience to reconnect with the surface of the Earth we live on

  • Data physicalization
  • Installation design
  • Data activism
Hands arranging the moss on the land-use boards, Peru in front
Role
Storyteller · Information designer · Builder
Timeline
Q2 2023
Team
Solo project

A giant man-made farm

“Earth has been transformed from a diverse wilderness to a giant man-made farm.” Source: Our World in Data.

The first time I landed in Italy I was shocked to see the amount of land used for agriculture. And although in my country, Colombia, it is a little less critical, Google Earth showed me that this is a constant in most countries in the world.

Satellite view of Piemonte, Italy, covered in farm fields
Satellite view of Boyacá, Colombia, with native forest patches marked

From something external to something internal

  • Close-up of a hand with atopic dermatitis, the skin dry and cracked
  • Satellite view of Mato Grosso, Brasil, forest cut into farm plots
Venn diagram comparing the Earth's surface and human skin: both cover, are delicate, multilayered, carry a trace of time and actions, and can be damaged by external agents
Installation sketch: an analog voting poster with a reflection question, a sound experience and a touch experience along a table of boards

Process

A concrete test bar beside the metal mouldsA concrete test bar beside the metal moulds
Material tests: moss, soil and concrete samples on a tableMaterial tests: moss, soil and concrete samples on a table
Metal moulds labelled with each country's nameMetal moulds labelled with each country's name

Touch, listen & feel

  • Hands resting on the moss of the China board
  • A visitor leans over the table of ten boards to touch them

Land use in 10 megadiverse countries

Source: The World Factbook, CIA

Forest, arable land and other land, one board per country.

  • Land use in 10 megadiverse countries: forest, arable land and other land, one board per country
  • Brazil
  • India
  • Ecuador
  • United States
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Mexico
  • Australia
  • Peru
  • Indonesia

Other projects

  • xFarm Checks Module

    xFarm Technologies ·

    Field-level compliance checks for agronomists.

    • UX/UI
  • Aerial farmland with per-field regenerative verification status overlays.

    xFarm Regenerative

    xFarm Technologies ·

    Regenerative-practice verification as a connected loop between supply chains and farmers.

    • UX/UI
    • Data visualization

Work with me