Midterm Thesis Crit

Jonathan Riese

Connectedness to Nature

• concept from environmental psychology: how much does one see oneself as part of nature and nature as part of their own identity?
• positive effects on mental and physical wellbeing, reducing stress and boosting immune system, increases pro-environmental behavior
• can be increased through nature experiences, which is lacking in context of urbanisation and digitalisation as well as isolation during pandemic
• mediated (digital) nature experiences can also have a positive effect, but lower in quality; immersiveness as important factor
• shinrin-yoku: japanese practice of “forest bathing”, taking in the forest with all senses to find connection to nature

Art Concept

• immersive video installation resembling a natural environment
• larger space surrounded by nature, people can sit or lie down (in silence)
• healing / therapeutic experience for viewers, reconnection with nature

Prototype A

working title Lost in a Digital Ocean

• multi-screen installation with a server-like centerpiece, representing the manufactured, unnatural origin of digital data
• display of internet-sourced videos of the ocean from a variety of platforms, contents and contexts (e.g. Instagram travel vlog, nature documentaries or youtube fishing video)
• big picture: shows a lot of blue, ocean of screens, ambient wave sound
• in detail: different representations of nature on social media
• possibly powered by social media APIs, live updates newest videos posted with certain hashtags (#ocean, #sea, #water, #beach …)

Prototype B

• immersive livestream of nature, transports a specific natural space into the exhibition space through digital means
• space surrounded by large screens or projections
• questioning the digital nature experience: how does it differ from being in real nature? why am I experiencing nature in a human-made space? (similar to works like Olafur Eliasson’s Waterbed or Walter De Maria’s Earth Room)
• also functioning as an archive of natural spaces, a way to preserve natural spaces that will be gone in the future

Web Prototype

Research

• looking at digital nature experiences in contemporary context of social media, focus on moving images (with sound)
• What effect do different kinds of digital interactions with nature have on connectedness to nature?
• study testing connectedness following viewings of different nature representations

Key Bibliography

Arendt, Florian, and Jörg Matthes. “Nature Documentaries, Connectedness to Nature, and Pro-Environmental Behavior.” Environmental Communication 10, no. 4 (2014): 453–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2014.993415.

Martin, Leanne, Mathew P. White, Anne Hunt, Miles Richardson, Sabine Pahl, and Jim Burt. “Nature Contact, Nature Connectedness and Associations with Health, Wellbeing and pro-Environmental Behaviours.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 68 (2020): 101389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101389.

Wyles, Kayleigh J., Mathew P. White, Caroline Hattam, Sabine Pahl, Haney King, and Melanie Austen. “Are Some Natural Environments More Psychologically Beneficial Than Others? The Importance of Type and Quality on Connectedness to Nature and Psychological Restoration.” Environment and Behavior 51, no. 2 (2017): 111–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916517738312.

Houwelingen-Snippe, J. V., Rompay, T. J., & Allouch, S. B. (2020). Feeling Connected after Experiencing Digital Nature: A Survey Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6879. doi:10.3390/ijerph17186879.