Global Warming and Radical Hope

The Interface

Inspired by TV-detective "crazy walls," cabinets of curiosity, and "hyperobjects" (see below) we have woven the contents of our special issue, "Global Warming and Radical Hope,"" throughout an interface designed for exploration and discovery. It is meant to take time, to not be fully apparent…to be "so vastly distributed in time and space, relative to the observer, that we might not think it's even an object at all." The object can be viewed at two scales, from "outside," where you can see what appear to be boundaries, but you can't see all the contents, and "within," where you aren't able to see the object at all.

The Hyperobject

We have created what we're loosely calling a hyperobject, after Timothy Morton, author of one of the passages which inspired our work on this issue. From "Hyperobjects and Creativity," Morton offers: "A hyperobject is a name I invented for something that is so vastly distributed in time and space, relative to the observer, that we might not think it’s even an object at all. It’s good to have a word for things that are now only too thinkable, if not totally visible—global warming, radiation, the biosphere…"

The Passages

When you close this information screen by clicking the arrow to the left, you will see an interface surrounded by links to short excerpts that have inspired the issue. These are our "Passages," called this both because they are extracts from larger bodies of works and because they are creative channels through which you may move to better understand the contributions that form the primary content of the issue. These are highlighted in yellow when you hover over them.

Digging In

Zooming in will lock you to a close-up view, revealing many components you are unable to experience when standing outside. This is a very large experience, and we have designed your experience with it to be slow and methodical. No swiping to pan across the entire image from side to side; no zooming out to see where you are and back in again. The work described by our contributors—cultural, political, scientific, architectural, educational, etc.—on our climate crisis is similarly slow, and requires a committed patience and attention to detail. Click (or tap) and drag on your screen when you are zoomed in to explore the extents of the object—to discover all that there is to offer in the works of our contributors and our visual editorials along the way

The Contributions

When you have zoomed in, you will uncover links to all of our invited contributions in the form of small set pieces. These are highlighted in red borders when you hover over them. You will also discover an uncanny set of "core samples" from this planet we are on that, when hovered over or tapped, provide reflections and comments on the design by the designers.

There is no right or wrong way to move through the space of this issue; this is intended as an analogue to swimming unknowingly, but with intent, through the complex spirals of our climate change precipice. You may very well find it disorienting, but then again, so often is hope.