City Gazing Riyadh

In the 1970s, an iconic image of the Earth taken from the Apollo 17 space shuttle became a symbol of environmentalism. In fact, many astronauts who see the Earth floating in the vastness of space experience what has been termed “the overview effect”: a mental shift of perception, a newly found awareness of how vulnerable and fragile life on our planet is. When they return to Earth, they feel compelled to commit themselves to a sustainable future. With City Gazing Riyadh, a tailor-made installation based on the city of Riyadh as seen in NASA satellite images, VOUW brings this feeling to the residents of Riyadh and gives an impression of the “footprint” of light that the city sends into space.

In the 1970s, an iconic image of the Earth taken from the Apollo 17 space shuttle became a symbol of environmentalism. In fact, many astronauts who see the Earth floating in the vastness of space experience what has been termed “the overview effect”: a mental shift of perception, a newly found awareness of how vulnerable and fragile life on our planet is. When they return to Earth, they feel compelled to commit themselves to a sustainable future. With City Gazing Riyadh (2021), a tailor-made installation based on the city of Riyadh as seen in NASA satellite images, VOUW brings this feeling to the residents of Riyadh and gives an impression of the “footprint” of light that the city sends into space.