The Traces of Dust from Earth to Sky

The Traces of Dust from Earth to Sky is an installation depicting the story of dust. Here how it all started:We have a tendency to see the negative things happening around us. We always say that this and that are bad. Do not eat that, do not buy that, ohh do not go there. It is dangerous! Somehow we end up living in a scarcity. We are so afraid of everything, and it turns out everything is dangerous for our health and well-being. 

I started collaborating with the Dust Institute and diving into Dust Research. I had no idea about Dust before. What is it? From what material is it made of? Where can we find it? Or is there any place where dust can not exist? Really? What are these small particles, mostly we can not even see? Why do they even exist? They are disgusting!!! I clean my apartment at least once a week. When I see the dust around, I get uncomfortable. Why do those things annoy me so much? On the other hand, the people who are not exposed to the dust have the worst allergies. Yes, there are lots of diseases like allergies, lung cancers, hearth problems because of dust. I continued researching, Covid and dust relations and the list is just going on. It is endless! OMG this is so dangerous and we breathe all the time! We breathe them, we eat them and there is no way to escape from that! This is bad, this is really bad! 

Who is talking?Not me I am not saying that. This is fear. This is the fear also triggered by pandemi. I am in survival. I have to get out of this state of mind. Let me think. This can not be all! This thing exists even in the cosmos, outside of this Earth. There must be a reason to exist. This has to have vital importance to exist. Right! Everything was a cloud of dust and then the big bang happened! and We are all Star Dusts!

I know, Right…. Let’s start from there. Humm, maybe this is too early. Can I go somewhere in time, still close but not that close, far but not that far… I can understand how this works! Then I found ``A History of The Small and Invisible Dust`` by Joseph A. Amato. What a great book! This is a good start. He says that Dust has been the first and common measure of smallness throughout the ages. How come the smallest thing becomes one of the main problems of the age. Global warming aerosols, chemicals in the air , water and earth. We are poisoning the earth.  

Vast is the kingdom of dust! Unlike terrestrial kingdoms, it knows no limits. No ocean marks its boundaries. No mountains hem it in. No parallels of latitude and longitude define its boundless areas, nor can the farthermost stars in the infinitudes of space serve other than as a twinkling outpost of a realm as vast as the universe itself. —J. Gordon Ogden, The Kingdom of Dust

Now you got me! I want to explore that kingdom!  Dust is everywhere because its source is everything. Its most remote origins in time and space are the Big Bang, collapsing stars, and the dark line across the center of the Milky Way. Here on earth dust comes from everything under the sun: minerals, seeds, pollen, insects, molds, lichens, and even bacteria. Its source also includes bone, hair, hide, feather, skin, blood, and excrement.  And things of human fabrication ….

Dust Storms:They look horrible and so scary but at the same time so beautiful. When I saw the pictures, I was speechless. I do not have any words to describe that. I do not want to experience that in real life, but it would be really cool to experience that in a clean space. 

The more we poison the world the more we want to keep our living areas clean. 

What is the function of Dust in nature? Why does it exist from the beginning till the end? Everything comes from dust and ends up being dust. Even the hardest materials erode/ break down and subsequently turn into dust, giving life to other organisms. 

100 years ago I was a dust speck. Now I see my ancestors in the dust particles. This is a kind of eternal life behind the visibility. 

How does it work in the nature?Dust dries water in the air. Dust layer keeps the water out, in which the hurricane can sustain itself, and dries up the wettest and wildest of hurricanes. For instance, Saharan dust storms are called ‘hurricane killers’. Without dust, we would get devastating hurricanes every year.   The same principle:In a very dry environment, a lot of dust gets suspended into the atmosphere. With the help of the winds, dust particles start interacting with the clouds, pulling moisture away from the larger particles of what that produces rainfall. When that takes place, the droplet sizes get too small, and they are not heavy enough to fall as precipitation. 

NATURE HAS A GREAT BALANCE. WHEREVER WE LOOK, WE SEE THE BALANCE. 

PM stands for particulate matter, the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air.  I decided to collect those data for different cities and generate a poetic data visualization. As a starting point, I collected the data and evaluated their values. 

In order to visualize the Vapour and Storms, I used a mist system and created a clean fog. Then, I projected the data visualising from PM data on top of the fog.

Materials: Wood, Water, Ultrasonic Mist Humidifier, Tull, LED Stripes, Metal Ropes, Beamer, Acrylic The installation contains a water insulated modular box, 1m long. The first prototype is built with one module. The size of the installation can enlarge. (For those options, please check the below) The digital data visualization is projected on the fog. The distance between the wall - projection surface and fog creates three dimensionality. 

The Production Process / Personal Notes about my Methodology:As an architect and exhibition / product designer, throughout the artwork development process there were some questions in the background such as: how to exhibit it, how to manifest the idea in the space, what material to use. Hanging system, materials for light absorption, designing a water tank and building it were the most familiar parts from my previous practice.  Although this is my first time conceptualizing an idea and turning it into an art piece via various mediums, one of my feet was always in the physical space and in a relationship with material. This might change in the future.  But....

I have to start from somewhere I am comfortable to explore unknown territories .One foot touches the physical realm while the other goes everywhere to explore. I should be rooted to grow. My roots are in architecture.

I thank all collaborators that supported for coding, brainstorming, installing of this project: Alberto Harres, Qianxun Chen, Adam Hudec, Büşra Inci