Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
EXIT is an immersive installation visualizing human migrations, as well as deforestation and the loss of languages around the world. Prompted by an idea from French philosopher and urbanist Paul Virilio, it was created by American artists and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, architect-artist Laura Kurgan, statistician-artist Mark Hansen and artist-designer Ben Rubin, in collaboration with scientists from diverse disciplines, including Bruce Albert, Fran ois Gemenne and Fran ois-Michel Le Tourneau. It was initiated by the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain for the 2008 exhibition Native Land, Stop Eject, which proposed a reflection on the notions of being rooted and uprooted, as well as related questions of identity.
Composed of a series of animated maps gene-rated by data collected from over 100 global sources, EXIT is divided into six scenarios--Population Shifts: Cities; Remittances: Sending Money Home; Political Refugees and Forced Migration; Natural Disasters; Rising Seas, Sinking Cities; and Speechless and Deforestation--providing the rare opportunity to understand the complex relationships between the various economic, political and environmen-tal factors underpinning contemporary human migrations. In 2015, it was updated for COP21 in Paris, reflecting the alarming evolution of the data since its creation.
Through numerous illustrations and texts by Paul Virilio, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Laura Kurgan, Mark Hansen and Fran ois Gemenne, this book retraces the creation of EXIT and explores the questions that are at the core of this timely and compelling artwork.
Synopsis
Based on an idea by French philosopher and urbanist Paul Virilio, the video installation EXIT was created by the New York-based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and premiered at Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris in 2008. Composed of a series of animated maps generated by data, this immersive installation investigated human migrations today and their leading causes, including the impact of climate change. Through six scenarios, this book, which was specially created to explain the exhibition, provides a rare opportunity to visually understand the complex relation- ships between the various economic, political, and environmental factors underpinning contemporary human migrations. For this revised volume, the data has been entirely updated, reflecting alarming changes since the piece was first presented.