Ground Truth I, or How To Resurrect A Tree (2019-ongoing)
Cameras have resolution limits – the point in which an imaging system cannot resolve details in an object; in other words, it can no longer zoom in. Using precise measurements of how trees scatter light, remote sensing scientists are developing models that help them overcome the resolution limit of satellite images. By computing a ‘viewing model’, scientists are able to infer forest structure from data beyond the immediately visible pixels. A tree can be recognised from otherwise ‘flat’ data. This kind of advanced imaging technology and algorithms makes ‘looking’ more abstract than ever.
‘Ground Truth I’ tells a story about ‘seeing something when there is nothing’. Using research data, the project explores the concepts of ‘algorithmic seeing and modelling’. Point clouds, photographs and data obtained through ‘Terrestrial Laser Scanning’ are transformed into photo objects, video works, installations, and art publications.
Following in the footsteps of the scientists, Sheung Yiu explores the latest imaging techniques of forests, while also looking back at photography’s traditional love affair with natural landscapes. Together, the artworks raise a question: can humans resurrect a tree from a pixel?
With special thanks to associate professor Miina Rautiainen and researchers Daniel Schraik, Aarne Hovi, Petri Forsström from the research project ‘From needles to landscapes: a novel approach to scaling forest spectra’ at Aalto University.
