Capturing Human’s Impact on Biodiversity through Citizen Science, Swissnex San Francisco

Capturing Human’s Impact on Biodiversity through Citizen Science, Swissnex San Francisco

swissnex.org
Website
2022
English
Meg Shiffler
swissnex.org, PDF

Swissnex in San Francisco is pleased to present Swiss artist Marc Lee’s project Used to Be My Home Too as a key part of a series of programs and events highlighting Ticino, the Italian speaking canton of Switzerland, organized by the Consulate General of Switzerland and in parallel to the Italian Language Week this October in San Francisco.
Lee utilizes Google Earth as a platform to fly viewers globally as citizen scientists to share biodiversity observations through the social network and mobile application iNaturalist. iNaturalist was recently acquired by the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and has a growing community of millions of naturalist explorers from around the world. Through this format, the efforts of these naturalists genuinely make a difference in understanding the diversity of life and how to sustain it through the unfolding climate crisis.

Marc Lee explains how Used to Be My Home Too engages visitors in a discussion about “how we humans have become biodiverse agents interacting with the most fundamental processes of our Earth.” He continues, “In this experiment, you fly via Google Earth continuously to the exact locations where animal, fungus and plant observations are being photographed in real time and sent to iNaturalist.org.

In addition, taxonomically similar species that occurred in the same country and are endangered or became extinct within the last 30 years are automatically added from the RedList.org. Established in 1964, the Switzerland based International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species.

The Swissnex presentation of Marc Lee’s Used to Be My Home Too will share space with an exhibition of photography by Ticino-based artist Flavia Leuenberger Ceppi produced by the Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco. Leuenberger Ceppi’s Swiss Rocks series, which will be displayed on the exterior along Pier 17, shows images of the remote Valle Bavona, which is only accessible in the summer months.

Moghegno – Monterey shows portraits of Californians who originally came from Ticino. First, second, and third generations are depicted in their American homes and places of work, while referencing their Swiss roots. Lee’s Used to Be My Home Too provides a bridge between the two bodies of photographs by furthering Leuenberger Ceppi’’s discussions about human migration and land use by introducing issues related to species extinction, human impact on biodiversity, and what citizens can do to help record a rapidly changing planet.

Curator: Meg Shiffler
Artists: Flavia Leuenberger, Marc Lee


 

Exhibited Artwork

Used to Be My Home Too

Real-time cartography

HEK, Basel

Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich

G.MAP, Gwangju