Project Statement:
Every year, the Alps rise by an average of one to two millimeters — a transformation not visible to our eyes, nor physically noticeable. What does this say about our perception?
The project “Your Earth Transforms” is a visual and philosophical approach to the notion of our (non)perception of very slow change. It focuses on visualizing transformations of the earth’s crust that have taken place over the past million years, while also pointing toward a potentially increasing activity of the crust caused by the effects of climate change.
Based on 3D-renderings by Google Earth from various satellite imagery, the project shows details from different mountain ranges in the Alps, the Cascade Range, the Rocky Mountains, the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Hawaiian Islands. The images display their respective shape at a certain point of time — a frozen moment, yet there is a sense of change and movement.
The earth’s crust — a combination of solid rocks — might seem safe and stable. Yet it is sensitive, affected by constant movement and transformations. Changes we don’t physically perceive can easily be overlooked. It is a matter of perception, but even more so, a matter of awareness. There is no status quo. The earth — our world — is in a perpetual state of flux.
Artist Bio:
Meike Nixdorf, born in 1976, is a German visual artist. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology from Freie Universitaet Berlin and was educated in photography and video at the International Center of Photography School during her three-year stay in New York, from 2005 to 2008. Her work has been exhibited in the US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Guatemala, and is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro (MAM), and the Southeast Museum of Photography. Meike has received various awards and grants, among others she has been a Critical Mass and Fotovisura Grant finalist. Her work has been featured in publications like The New Yorker and WIRED. Meike’s main interest lies in examining and raising questions about the interrelation of visual perception, spatial perception and the point of view.
