Aerial views of the ground for mapping, control, or military exploitation have numerous forms of surface value: representational power, logistics, targeting, real-time surveillance, and mastery of space. This workshop elaborates on the double aspect of the screen as geographical and mediatic, as a material and epistemological part of value creation. It includes a seminar discussion with set readings as well as a practice-led component on “landscape prediction.” Participants will experiment with relevant machine learning techniques and speculate upon the entanglement of visual media with the surfaces of the planet. They will explore how predictive images of the Earth can affect ground-level operations and how the surfaces of the planet can extend this visual archive.

This workshop is led by members of transmediale partner research group AMT (Archaeologies of Media and Technology) from the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton.