Overview is a large-scale, mixed media painting that reflects the networks which shape and connect our planet. Inspired by author Frank White’s concept of the “overview effect,” this painting creates a renewed sensation of Earth’s interconnectivity from a new perspective. In White’s exploration of “the overview effect,” he describes many astronauts recount viewing Earth from above for the first time as overwhelming yet transformative: boundaries and borders are erased and the awe-inspiring oneness of Earth becomes clear. Overview is a visual interpretation of this sensation realized not by space travel, but rather by an intricate visual collision of Earth’s systems.
Overview reveals everything as connected and evolving simultaneously as one. A visual patchwork of social networks, animal migrations, microbes, people, and freeways collide into a buzzing, interconnected environment. Much like the bountiful and vibrant biodiversity of a coral reef, this painting reveals Earth systems’ interlacing textures, colors, and forms. Frank White’s elaboration of “the overview effect” is less about experiencing outer space, but more about seeing Earth from a new point of view. Overview’s mural-like artwork aims to encapsulate this sensation, creating a new perspective about our home planet. Our links to each other and the environment run deeply within us and around us. We simply need to let ourselves experience the wonder of it all and acknowledge that we’re a part of it. Concepts for the piece are elaborated in Our Humanity, a handmade illustrated book.
