AtomSpheres
Andrew de Freitas >

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Ships have been instrumental in humanity exploring and understanding the Earth and our position in it. Since Ancient times, across cultures, there have been celebrations surrounding the launch and naming of a ship. Japanese ship names are often attached to the word "Maru" (丸, meaning "circle"). There are several theories associated with this practice; among them that the term, used in divination, represents perfection or completeness, or the ship as a small world of its own. In Japan this convention is still used for private and commercial ships, but by World War II a complete system was put in place for naming the different categories of ships: Heavy destroyers named after weather, Torpedo boats after birds, Destroyers after water and plants.

Similarly, through science, we explore and comprehend the world through categories and systems; often these are referred to as 'spheres of knowledge'. Here the sphere is essentially a model for understanding a system of knowledge- without a model here it would be nearly impossible to understand anything whatsoever. Systems can operate both separately or integrated as systems within systems. An atom, a cell, an organism, an ecosystem, our atmosphere, Earth, our galaxy, are all integrated systems, yet the ways in which we systematize our understanding of these, our knowledge, is ultimately not. Different 'spheres' of knowledge are necessary models for understanding the world, such as those organised into departments in a university; some that overlap and others that contradict. Concerning the current issue of climate change, problems surface as different valid scientific models operate in this way, each valid but only as distinct from the other. Similar problems occur in the way scientific findings are interpreted by the media or responded to in global politics.

With AtomSpheres, Andrew de Freitas produced a video installation for WINDOW's onsite space, celebrating the launch of the digitally animated model. The opening event incorporated a seminar by Chris de Freitas, from the School of Geology, Geography and Environmental Science. The presentation, "Climate Change, what do we know? Dealing with climate feedbacks in predicting human-caused climate change", addressed the above statements and other aspects of possible human-caused global climate change.