fluid dynamics

Read here at New Scientist's Gallery to find out fully what this model represents. Its a satellite image of the Kurishio current, the world's second strongest current after the Gulf stream. Here, fast moving water (red) forms geometrical structures reminiscent of loops traced out by chaotic systems. (images: caroline Mendoz and Ana M Mancho)
...off on another tangent altogether, but inspired by the image above, these photos taken of water at an ocean pool are captured in their fluidity. Where the image above is a satellite photo taken at great distance the images below are frozen moments of that fluidity as recorded by my camera whilst standing next to the pool. The first 2 images below are magnified a little. The flow of forms is engrossing, even hypnotic to observe.

culture futures at copenhagen

In a few days the Culture /Futures symposium kicks off in Copenhagen led by the Danish Cultural Institute and a partnership of arts organisations from around the world. Its based on the premise that the scale of the transition to the environmental age is so massive that just waiting for the right technological or political solution to show itself is not enough. It requires fundamental cultural change, and very fast change. Read more here from the RSA Arts and Ecology blog.
COP15 public events

Burning Ice exhibition.

100 places to remember before they disappear.

conversations with the earth- indigenous voices on climate change
These are 3 of 90 events on the official cultural program. This will open at the visit copenhagen site and you can click on the link there to open to COP15 events and then to the cultural calender. The link was faulty sorry!

Q: did art help to add the sheen to Dubai?

A: read William Shaw on the excellent Arts and Ecology blog to see his response and that of others.



A comment left on this post by contemporary art historian Reuben Fowkes suggests the Sharijah Biennial in Dubai is perhaps an extreme example of a general trend of art biennials being hitched to the marketing goals of cities or regions, with contemporary art mobilised as branding tool to boost tourism.
The Arts and Ecology Blog is well worth investigating - it feeds from the RSA Arts and Ecology Centre which was set up in 2005 by the RSA-  the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufacture and Commerce  in the UK. The Centre's head, Michaela Crimmin, says "Artists have always had a powerful relationship with the natural environment. Equally artists continually question and and re-examine society's notions of progress. We need their unique perspective on the enormous challenges ahead - on the relationship between environmental issues, and not least climate change, and people."
Read Reuben and Maja Fowkes fascinating www.translocal.org site for what looks like a very comprehensive take on contemporary art and ways it interacts with ecology. 
With a new year coming up, and time to pause, I wonder what will be thought up for 2010  that addresses the questions surrounding us at this time? 

new maths

from  www.morenewmath.com  by Craig Damrauer who is interviewed here at inside out blog. Worth reading if these are of interest. Below is a set of postcards Ed Ruscha picked out to be published from the website assorted bits of wisdom.com

from the NY Times july 28, 2009 Hurrying into the Next Panic?

Botanica Exhibition opens this week

Talented artist from this part of the world Nicola Moss is exhibiting artworks from the 'Family Tree' series developed during her year as Artist-in-Residence at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coo-tha in 2009. Read Nicola's blog to find more information about the opening this thursday night, 3rd of December and viewing times up until Dec 6th. Also on her blog you can read about her newly printed book 'Layers of Life' which promises to be a wonderful document of her times spent at the Gardens this year. In September I posted on a guided tour a few artist friends did with Nicola in the gardens here. It will be excellent to see the culmination of her exciting year of Botanical discovery and delight in this exhibition....Nicola's website  is also well worth a visit.

DUNE: Arenaceous Anti-Desertification Architecture

model by Magnus Larsson

An adaptive proposal for Northern Nigeria

Images at Flickr

After viewing this TED video on Magnus Larsson's vision to turn dunes into architecture here  I then found that BLDG BLOG, which was mentioned on the previous post, had an extensive story in April this year here. The architect acknowledges the challenges of his vision but proposes the scale of the issue is such that it demands every effort be put into combatting the desertification given the possibility that a 3rd of the world's land mass may have become desert by the end of this century, whilst population continues to climb and resources continue to be squeezed. Its an impressive idea and one hopes to see something come of it, even if evolution of the idea is first called for.

plants without borders

Plants without borders: An interview with Sara Redstone by Nicola Twilley.

Bay leaves showing symptoms of infection

When visiting the excellent BLDG BLOG this morning I came upon a most interesting and lengthy post that's worth reading if interested in plant quarantine and the complex issue of species being threatened by imported pests. In a global economy of trading, travel and transport across borders plants dont have passports saying for example they're from China when they are shipped from The Netherlands into the UK - problems can result. Trading is often put before quarantine!.

Sarah Redstone is Plant Health and Quarantine Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, UK - home of the world's largest collection of living plants. In addition to screening and isolating all incoming and outbound plant material, she is currently overseeing the design and construction of a new quarantine facility for the gardens.

She warns the public of the risks involved in moving plants around - bringing things back from holidays, especially smuggling things in from abroad. Wax candles, a jar of honey, a wooden sculpture also have the potential to become problematic. Campaigns to increase public awareness are timely and Redstone hopes once people understand they will heed the message "as we all share the same planet".

BLDG BLOG: architectural conjecture, urban speculation and landscape futures - written by Geoff Manaugh and the sister site: edible geography by Nicola Twilley

below: Electron micro images of seeds. Lamourousia viscosa (bottom) Franklin's sandwort (top) conserved at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank.