Modelling Morecambe Bay.mp4 from Daksha Patel on Vimeo.
Commissioned by Lancaster University, UK, the animation responds to their ongoing research into environmental modelling. The scientists work with a variety of datasets (eg flood risk, habitats etc) and process modelling technologies to predict the impact of climate change upon ecosystems. The film merges still images of Morecambe Bay – an important site for their research – with drawings inspired by the visual language of data maps. The drawings were originally made by hand and subsequently animated using creative coding methods. This mirrors the scientific process which also moves from analogue site to digital visualisations of data. The soundtrack is the voice of Prof. Gordon Blair poetically describing the challenges of the research. The confluence of coded drawings, photographs and voice, evokes the complexities, the uncertainties and the immense scope of the research.
The animation was selected for Raw Science film festival, Costa Rica (2022); Bristol Science film festival, UK (2022); shortlisted for the Jean Golding Data Science film prize (2022); the ‘Cutting Edge’ screening, ShortCircuitFilms, Fabrica Gallery, Brighton (2024).