GPS artist Esther Polak follows Nigerian milk
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 13:59Posted by Cluster
January 2-22 the NomadicMILK project by GPS artist Esther Polak travels to Nigeria. There she is using the satellite technology to track both the distribution of “Peak” brand milk from harbor city Lagos to the capital of Abuja as well as a nomadic Fulani family of cow herders in Abuja’s vicinity. By showing the people involved their own tracks and videotaping their responses to it she creates a reflection on current nomadic life.
A custom built robot accompanies her to Africa. Once fed the GPS data it draws the people’s recorded routes using sand, allowing large groups of people to gather around the image and reflect communally.
Esther Polak has been following the dairy economy for some time now. During her previous MILK project she tracked how milk from Latvian farmers ended up in Dutch cheese, earning her a Golden Nica award at the Ars Electronica festival. Milk, she says, has always been a fundamental part of our diet and as such has sculpted our lives and our landscapes.
Her activities can be followed live on the www.nomadicmilk.net blog as well as via a twitter account she updates via SMS.
After returning from Nigeria the project results will be showcased at the Transmediale exhibition in Berlin, which lasts from January 28th till February 2nd.
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