Prof. Yiyun Kang collaborates on Passage of Water, an art project with Google and NASA. Using data visualization from NASA's Grace and SWOT satellites, the immersive experience explores the causal link between climate change and the Earth's freshwater crisis through online and offline components.

Professor Yiyun Kang in the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST created a new artwork in collaboration between Google's Arts and Culture, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Prof. Kang spent a year as a Google artist in residence in Google’s Heartbeat of the Earth program, which tasks artists with addressing the climate crisis. As a result, Prof. Kang created scientific artwork by employing data from NASA's Grace and SWOT satellites. The project is designed to provide an immersive experience that allows a viewer to reflect on the current freshwater crisis and its causal relationship with climate change, incorporating both online and offline components. Notably, the SWOT satellite was launched in Dec 2022, and its first dataset was exclusively used for the first time in Prof. Kang’s project before being publicly released.

A combination of various digital technologies were employed, including web design, data visualization, 3D rendering, game engines, and sound, to complete the artwork. Simultaneously, drawing from extensive research on the Earth's water scarcity, Kang structured the work into immersive storytelling accessible to everyone. The online exhibition was launched on November 30th through the Google platform (https://experiments.withgoogle.com/passage-of-water). The exhibition is permanent, open to the global audience, allowing anyone to view it.  A large-scale offline exhibition was showcased from November 30th to December 12th at the Luxembourg Pavilion in Expo City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, during the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28 Dubai).

The offline exhibition will be featured in the Blue Zone of COP28 Dubai, invited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Unlike the Green Zone, which is accessible to the general public, the Blue Zone serves as the main and exclusive venue for COP, where leaders, policymakers, and climate experts gather to engage in climate negotiations and explore major events.

Accessible at

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/collection/heartbeat-earth

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/passage-of-water

https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/passage-of-water/dAElpEyEjuE9XQ?hl=en

The exhibition has gained significant attention from climate experts and COP28 delegates. Notable figures such as Bill Nelson (the current NASA Administrator and former US Senator), Kate Brandt (Google's Sustainability Chief), and King of Luxembourg (Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg) visited the exhibition. Prof. Kang engaged in extensive discussions with these individuals, sharing insights. Prof. Kang also participated in a talk with Dr. Keren M. St. Germain, Director of NASA's Earth Science Division at Water Pavilion of COP28.

The climate crisis is truly a complicated challenge that requires the convergence of technology, science, policies, and humanity. In this regard, Passage of Water exemplifies a true convergence of art and science, illustrating how artwork incorporating scientific findings and engineering applications can come together to orchestrate an artistic experience that facilitates a public conversation on critical issues facing humanity.

Prof. Kang said, "Through a special partnership between Google and NASA, I endeavored to transform vast data and complex scientific concepts into accessible artistic experiences." She continued, “Art can serve as an exceptional vehicle for fostering a deeper understanding of pressing issues; I also believe the role of art is particularly crucial in addressing highly complex issues like the climate crisis, which demands collective effort from everyone.”

Prof. Kang's interview articles regarding the COP28 project have been disseminated through global media outlets such as Forbes, CNN, Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and JTBC Newsroom.

NASA: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/googles-a-passage-of-water-brings-nasas-water-data-to-life/

https://twitter.com/NASAExhibit/status/1732150519659934021

Google Officialblog post: https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/discover-the-link-between-climate-change-and-freshwater-availability/

CNN

https://arabic.cnn.com/science-and-health/video/2023/12/13/v148826-cop28-passage-of-water-nasa-google

Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/lesliekatz/2023/12/03/cop28-artist-teams-with-google-for-vivid-interactive-dive-into-freshwater-crisis/?sh=6149fd843797

조선일보

https://www.chosun.com/culture-life/culture_general/2023/12/04/PV7U5BKIKBFSZAL7RIH22PDFYI/

중앙일보

https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25213447#home

JTBC 뉴스룸

https://news.jtbc.co.kr/article/article.aspx?news_id=NB12154787