The Art of Science - Fractal Images

A Climate Change Explorer media opportunity in association with Newcastle-based Helix Arts, Cumbria Arts in Education, ECN (Environmental Change Network), Dowdales School (in Cumbria) and Mortimer Community College (in South Shields):

Most artists use paint, charcoal, pastels or gouache to create their artwork – North West-based New Media artist LORRAINE BERRY has bucked that trend and gone for a completely different approach; she has used scientific environmental research as her creative pallet, to craft a spectacular interactive online eBook entitled as Seasons Change. The audio-visual eBook contains fascinating sound pieces and a breathtaking series of mathematically generated fractal images; the sound pieces were created by Berry interpreting data supplied by the Environmental Change Network.

Curious? Intrigued? A bit of both? Then why not check out as Seasons Change by visiting www.climatechangeexplorer.co.uk.

as Seasons Change skilfully shows how different components of the natural world are closely interlinked and how climate change is affecting these interactions in subtle ways. It’s hoped the eBook will be a unique way of making these findings more accessible to a wider range of people and help draw attention to some of the changes in the natural environment believed to be the result of climate change.

Climate change has been catapulted to the top of the global political agenda and is a topic that is making people sit up and listen to issues that are affecting everybody on the planet. In recent times it has inspired people to spread the word through world music concerts and has even been the source for individuals being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; and projects like as Seasons Change are imaginative ways of getting people to think about important environmental topics.

Here are some more interesting facts about as Seasons Change:

How did Lorraine Berry create her fractal images? : The spectacular ‘organic-esque’ images are all computer generated – the initial process is born out of the computer choosing a random number and then repeatedly running a mathematical algorithm (or formula) using the results to plot the image… the process is like a complex graph.

It’s more than just images… another fascinating aspect of the project is how the artist has transformed the scientific data into music, for example on page 42 of the ebook, people can hear an audio piece - The Sound of the Climate - that was created by using global temperature statistics from 1850 to 2006.

as Seasons Change is the culmination of a six-month residency between Lorraine Berry and ECN (Environmental Change Network) who are co-ordinated by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Lancaster; the work is part of a wider partnership programme called Climate Change Explorer - www.climatechangeexplorer.co.uk - that has seen Helix Arts, Cumbria Arts in Education, Dowdales School (in Cumbria) and Mortimer Community College (in South Shields) generate a host of amazing creative projects.

Initiated by arts development agency Helix Arts in 2001, Climate Change Explorer aims to educate the public, and in particular young people, about issues of climate change at a local and national level. The programme explores creative approaches to investigating the evidence, interrogating the debate and taking individual and collective ownership of the issues. The key element of Climate Change Explorer is a groundbreaking interactive online education resource with open public access plus a private area for subscribing schools to develop and upload new work. The aim of the website facility is to give people [young learners and teachers] the chance to absorb and contribute information about climate change – the programme is currently being developed by Global Voice (UK) and piloted in schools across the North-East and North-West of England by Adam Hill of Global Voice (UK) & Artist Adam Clarke.

The Climate Change Explorer project has provided a great opportunity for groups of young people to find out about climate change and its effects. Through creative, artist-led activities they have explored some of the impacts that climate change is having in their own country, as determined by long-term environmental monitoring. This has been carried out over 15 years by the UK's Environmental Change Network (ECN), a multi-agency programme represented in the project by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

The website will showcase some of the creative work produced by artists and young people with the intention to inspire others to find out about climate change and its significance. The featured artists include: Lorraine Berry, Adam Clarke and Pete Rogers. Climate Change Explorer has been supported by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs); Arts Council England; Creative Partnerships Cumbria and Northumberland; Ernest Cook Trust; and Cumberland Building Society.

Quotes Section:

1). Artist Lorraine Berry, said: “Some people have compared the creation of fractal images to a process of evolution or to the way nature itself operates.

"I originally took part in the project because I was interested in the idea of working with scientists. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and found the work of the ECN scientists totally absorbing. Their research demonstrates how everything in nature is interrelated and how one thing impacts upon another. Equally their work shows how our actions can set in place a chain of events that may have wider implications than we realise."

2). Robert Laycock, Director of Helix Arts, said: “as Seasons Change is an ambitious and fascinating artwork that demonstrates the unique power of art to communicate big issues facing society, in beautiful and thought provoking ways.”

3). Dr. Andrew Sier, Science Liaison Officer for ECN, said: “It was a fascinating experience to work with Lorraine on this project. She was able to quickly grasp the science and to put together different components to tell a story. By combining stunning fractal images with 'music' derived from actual datasets, her piece is not only beautiful and absorbing but it carries an important underlying message: that human-induced climate change appears to be impacting on many components of the natural world here in the UK, from the ecology of upland peat bogs to Atlantic salmon fisheries and from butterflies to frogs.”

The next move: Through the power of the Internet as Seasons Change will be able to reach a growing international audience of artists, scientists, environmentalists and schools. To find out information about Helix Arts and how schools or colleges can sign up for Climate Change Explorer please contact (0191) 241 4931 via email - info@helixarts.com alternatively visit www.helixarts.com

It's our choice, it's our world and it's our future.... Climate Change Explorer.

Media contact: (for all interview and fractal image requests)

Garry Smith of Strictly Press on 0191 289 2809 or 0789 9910823, alternatively via email - news@strictlypress.co.uk

Notes to Editor:

1). Helix Arts specialise in the development of projects and initiatives that explore the role and potential of the arts in a social context. www.helixarts.com

2). Lorraine Berry creates artworks and installations using new media technology. Her work has been exhibited in Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and throughout North West England. Her practice raises questions as to the nature of reality and perception and often uses illusion, interactivity and visual awareness as a means of challenging preconceptions. www.lorraineberry.com

3). The Environmental Change Network (ECN) is the UK's long-term environmental monitoring programme. It is designed to collect, store, analyse and interpret long-term data based on a set of key physical, chemical and biological variables, which drive and respond to environmental change at a range of terrestrial and freshwater sites across the UK. ECN is a multi-agency initiative of 14 sponsoring organisations co-ordinated by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. www.ecn.ac.uk and www.ceh.ac.uk

Lorraine Berry worked with the following people during her residency: Environmental Change Network including scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Forest Research and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute. She also used data from the Met Office Hadley Centre.

4). The aim of Cumbria Arts in Education is to increase opportunities for young people and the wider community in Cumbria to work with and benefit from the skills and expertise of professional artists. www.cumbriaarts.co.uk

5). For further information about Dowdales School in Cumbria please visit www.dowdalesschool.co.uk/home.htm

6). For further information about Mortimer Community College (in South Shields) please visit www.mortimercomprehensive.co.uk