Phloem

In recent months, energy has become a major strategical issue for Europe. The war in Ukraine and our dependency of Russian gas has accelerated our need to rethink and redistribute the continent’s energy resources, a discussion long overdue to mitigate climate change. When flicking on the office light switch, or activating our home’s heating, we are mostly unaware of where our energy comes from, or the complicated infrastructures that utility companies use to bring it to our doorstep. Thus, the topic remains highly abstract for the general public. Through art and data, "Phloem" attempts to visualize our energy networks to help us grasp the complex web that powers our life.

"Phloem" is a generative artwork that uses daily data of the amount of megawatts produced in Germany from various energy sources, including hydroelectric, gas, oil, waste-to-energy, wind, geothermal, solar, biomass, nuclear and coal among other. The animation evokes electric charts, the bundling and branching of cables in data centers and communication system maps, all visual references that help the artist represent the distribution of our energy resources. Through this artistic visualization, the artist captures how deeply interconnected we are to the energy resources of our planet.