New Horizon Initiative– Elysian Desert
Land development invariably puts human interests first. But what would the landscape look like if plants, animals or insects were in charge? How would a gazelle see the landscape? And what would be a bee’s perspective? Or a snake’s?
Dirk-Jan Visser and Gus Drake analyse the interests of non-human life in the landscape. They call for new decision-making in which the rights of nature carry as much weight as those of humans. ‘New Horizon Initiative’ helps politicians, CEOs and other policymakers recognise the interests of non-human life in their management models, showing alternative scenarios.
‘Elysian Desert’ is the first part of the ongoing project. This visual ‘stakeholder analysis’ was launched at the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) in November 2022. There, they revealed what this tourist resort might also have looked like.
Using artificial intelligence, Visser and Drake create an imaginary landscape, based on scientific research that considers the interests of local flora and fauna. Their ideas align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the UN has set itself to encourage the conservation of ecosystems and the biodiversity within them.
‘New Horizon Initiative’ is supported by computer-vision researcher Marianna Ohanyan and ecologist/data analyst Mohamed Zakaria. With thanks to Bernadette Simpson of ‘Wandering through Wadis’, Habiba Community in Nuweiba, the Creative Climate Coalition, Mondriaan Fund and Fonds voor de Creatieve Industrie.
Dirk-Jan Visser (Netherlands, 1978) is a photographer, a lecturer at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (KABK) and holds a position on the Supervisory Board of the World Press Photo Foundation. Gus Drake (United States, 1995) is an Amsterdam-based photographer/artist. He graduated from the KABK in 2022. He is the author of ‘Ode to Home’, a chronicle of the Groningen village of Overschild.
