Saturday, February 19, 2011

"1945-1998" by Isao Hashimoto ... I'll just leave this here.

Seeing as I have to leave for Lake Eildon in an hour (fun...), I'd best make this very brief. 


Last night Dave sent me this, and it kind of blew my mind. Not only is it completely fascinating, but it's also quite mesmerising in it's quiet creepiness. Disconcerting, and also mildly shiver-inducing. 


It's by Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto, and it's an animated map of nuclear explosions. The months and the years bleep by a second at a time, and little colour-coded explosions go off. Colour coded by country, it soon turns from a few isolated bleeps to the most mind-boggling flurry of colour and almost musical activity. 


It's kind of weirdly beautiful. 


And before you get all angry, yes it does omit two nuclear tests conducted by North Korea in October 2006 and May 2009, as well as  subcritical nuclear tests conducted in recently by the US/UK and the Ruskies. That's because it stops at 1998. 


I'll just leave this here. Watch it.



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