[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.65,0:00:18.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I asked you to picture the air,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.60,0:00:20.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what do you imagine?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.41,0:00:26.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most people think about either empty space
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.92,0:00:28.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or clear blue sky
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.00,0:00:31.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or sometimes trees dancing in the wind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.35,0:00:36.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then I remember my high school\Nchemistry teacher with really long socks
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.05,0:00:37.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the blackboard,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.26,0:00:40.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,drawing diagrams of bubbles\Nconnected to other bubbles,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.69,0:00:45.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and describing how they vibrate\Nand collide in a kind of frantic soup.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.71,0:00:50.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But really, we tend not to think\Nabout the air that much at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.18,0:00:52.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We notice it mostly
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.89,0:00:56.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when there's some kind of unpleasant\Nsensory intrusion upon it,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.01,0:01:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a terrible smell\Nor something visible like smoke or mist.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.63,0:01:04.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's always there.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.71,0:01:08.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's touching all of us right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.21,0:01:09.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's even inside us.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.51,0:01:16.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our air is immediate, vital and intimate.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.56,0:01:20.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, it's so easily forgotten.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.51,0:01:24.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what is the air?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.60,0:01:28.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the combination of the invisible\Ngases that envelop the Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.37,0:01:30.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attracted by the Earth's\Ngravitational pull.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.77,0:01:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even though I'm a visual artist,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.22,0:01:38.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm interested in\Nthe invisibility of the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.13,0:01:41.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm interested in how we imagine it,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.73,0:01:43.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how we experience it
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.80,0:01:47.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how we all have an innate\Nunderstanding of its materiality
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.64,0:01:48.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through breathing.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.03,0:01:56.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All life on Earth changes the air\Nthrough gas exchange,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.71,0:01:58.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're all doing it right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.18,0:02:02.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, why don't we all\Nright now together take
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.17,0:02:04.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one big, collective, deep breath in.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.96,0:02:07.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ready? In. (Inhales)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.51,0:02:11.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And out. (Exhales)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.28,0:02:15.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That air that you just exhaled,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.98,0:02:19.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you enriched a hundred times\Nin carbon dioxide.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.86,0:02:26.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So roughly five liters of air per breath,\N17 breaths per minute
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.02,0:02:32.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the 525,600 minutes per year,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.62,0:02:38.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes to approximately\N45 million liters of air,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.10,0:02:42.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enriched 100 times in carbon dioxide,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.12,0:02:43.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just for you.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.32,0:02:48.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, that's equivalent to about 18\NOlympic-sized swimming pools.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.70,0:02:52.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For me, "air" is plural.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.93,0:02:56.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's simultaneously\Nas small as our breathing
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.03,0:02:57.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as big as the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.43,0:03:00.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's kind of hard to picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.53,0:03:03.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe it's impossible,\Nand maybe it doesn't matter.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.68,0:03:06.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So through my visual arts practice,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.56,0:03:10.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try to make air, not so much picture it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.27,0:03:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but to make it visceral\Nand tactile and haptic.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.12,0:03:19.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try to expand this notion\Nof the aesthetic, how things look,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.95,0:03:23.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that it can include things\Nlike how it feels on your skin
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.58,0:03:25.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in your lungs,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.31,0:03:27.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how your voice sounds\Nas it passes through it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.97,0:03:34.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I explore the weight, density and smell,\Nbut most importantly,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.48,0:03:38.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think a lot about the stories we attach\Nto different kinds of air.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.03,0:03:45.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a work I made in 2014.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.81,0:03:49.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's called "Different Kinds\Nof Air: A Plant's Diary,"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.94,0:03:53.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I was recreating the air\Nfrom different eras in Earth's evolution,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.87,0:03:56.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and inviting the audience\Nto come in and breathe them with me.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.89,0:04:00.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's really surprising,\Nso drastically different.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.78,0:04:03.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I'm not a scientist,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.90,0:04:06.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but atmospheric scientists\Nwill look for traces
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.90,0:04:09.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the air chemistry in geology,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.68,0:04:11.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a bit like how rocks can oxidize,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.02,0:04:15.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they'll extrapolate\Nthat information and aggregate it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.39,0:04:18.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such that they can\Npretty much form a recipe
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.56,0:04:20.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the air at different times.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.65,0:04:23.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then I come in as the artist\Nand take that recipe
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.31,0:04:26.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and recreate it using the component gases.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.96,0:04:31.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was particularly interested\Nin moments of time
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.71,0:04:35.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are examples\Nof life changing the air,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.78,0:04:39.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also the air that can influence\Nhow life will evolve,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.91,0:04:42.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Carboniferous air.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.52,0:04:46.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's from about 300 to 350\Nmillion years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.48,0:04:50.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's an era known\Nas the time of the giants.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.26,0:04:53.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for the first time\Nin the history of life,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.75,0:04:55.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lignin evolves.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.17,0:04:57.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the hard stuff\Nthat trees are made of.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.52,0:05:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So trees effectively invent\Ntheir own trunks at this time,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.07,0:05:03.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they get really big,\Nbigger and bigger,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.14,0:05:04.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and pepper the Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.52,0:05:07.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,releasing oxygen, releasing\Noxygen, releasing oxygen,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.84,0:05:11.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such that the oxygen levels\Nare about twice as high
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.48,0:05:12.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as what they are today.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.54,0:05:17.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this rich air supports\Nmassive insects --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.43,0:05:22.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,huge spiders and dragonflies\Nwith a wingspan of about 65 centimeters.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.31,0:05:28.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To breathe, this air is really clean\Nand really fresh.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.25,0:05:29.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It doesn't so much have a flavor,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.94,0:05:34.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it does give your body\Na really subtle kind of boost of energy.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.44,0:05:36.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really good for hangovers.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.33,0:05:38.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.56,0:05:41.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or there's the air of the Great Dying --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.26,0:05:44.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's about 252.5 million years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.90,0:05:46.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just before the dinosaurs evolve.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.97,0:05:50.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a really short time period,\Ngeologically speaking,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.73,0:05:53.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from about 20- to 200,000 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.71,0:05:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Really quick.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.12,0:05:58.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the greatest extinction event\Nin Earth's history,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.83,0:06:01.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even bigger than when\Nthe dinosaurs died out.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.16,0:06:06.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eighty-five to 95 percent of species\Nat this time die out,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.14,0:06:11.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and simultaneous to that is a huge,\Ndramatic spike in carbon dioxide,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.34,0:06:12.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that a lot of scientists agree
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.95,0:06:16.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes from a simultaneous\Neruption of volcanoes
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.49,0:06:18.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a runaway greenhouse effect.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.32,0:06:24.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oxygen levels at this time go\Nto below half of what they are today,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.95,0:06:26.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so about 10 percent.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.27,0:06:29.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this air would definitely not\Nsupport human life,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.17,0:06:31.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's OK to just have a breath.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.22,0:06:34.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And to breathe, it's oddly comforting.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.28,0:06:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really calming, it's quite warm
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.23,0:06:41.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it has a flavor a little bit\Nlike soda water.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.40,0:06:43.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has that kind of spritz,\Nquite pleasant.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.26,0:06:47.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So with all this thinking\Nabout air of the past,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.72,0:06:51.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's quite natural to start thinking\Nabout the air of the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.48,0:06:55.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And instead of being speculative with air
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.30,0:06:58.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and just making up what I think\Nmight be the future air,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.84,0:07:02.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I discovered this human-synthesized air.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.08,0:07:06.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That means that it doesn't occur\Nanywhere in nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.08,0:07:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's made by humans in a laboratory
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.22,0:07:12.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for application in different\Nindustrial settings.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.92,0:07:15.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is it future air?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.88,0:07:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, this air is a really stable molecule
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.24,0:07:23.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will literally be part of the air\Nonce it's released,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.88,0:07:27.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the next 300 to 400 years,\Nbefore it's broken down.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.61,0:07:32.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's about 12 to 16 generations.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.77,0:07:36.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this future air has\Nsome very sensual qualities.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.15,0:07:39.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's very heavy.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.12,0:07:44.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about eight times heavier\Nthan the air we're used to breathing.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.77,0:07:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's so heavy, in fact,\Nthat when you breathe it in,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.83,0:07:52.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whatever words you speak\Nare kind of literally heavy as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.25,0:07:55.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they dribble down your chin\Nand drop to the floor
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.48,0:07:57.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and soak into the cracks.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.56,0:08:00.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's an air that operates\Nquite a lot like a liquid.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.39,0:08:05.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this air comes\Nwith an ethical dimension as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.57,0:08:08.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Humans made this air,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.36,0:08:12.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's also the most potent\Ngreenhouse gas
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.64,0:08:14.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that has ever been tested.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.38,0:08:21.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Its warming potential is 24,000 times\Nthat of carbon dioxide,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.14,0:08:24.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it has that longevity\Nof 12 to 16 generations.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.58,0:08:30.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this ethical confrontation\Nis really central to my work.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.90,0:08:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(In a lowered voice) It has\Nanother quite surprising quality.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.82,0:08:51.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It changes the sound of your voice\Nquite dramatically.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.26,0:08:54.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.48,0:09:00.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we start to think -- ooh!\NIt's still there a bit.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.50,0:09:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.96,0:09:04.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we think about climate change,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.57,0:09:10.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we probably don't think about\Ngiant insects and erupting volcanoes
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.57,0:09:12.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or funny voices.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.55,0:09:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The images that more readily come to mind
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.08,0:09:21.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are things like retreating glaciers\Nand polar bears adrift on icebergs.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.82,0:09:24.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We think about pie charts\Nand column graphs
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.70,0:09:28.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and endless politicians\Ntalking to scientists wearing cardigans.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.42,0:09:34.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But perhaps it's time we start\Nthinking about climate change
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.64,0:09:38.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the same visceral level\Nthat we experience the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.08,0:09:45.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like air, climate change is simultaneously\Nat the scale of the molecule,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.54,0:09:47.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the breath and the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.48,0:09:52.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's immediate, vital and intimate,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.98,0:09:57.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as being amorphous and cumbersome.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.79,0:10:02.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, it's so easily forgotten.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.08,0:10:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Climate change is the collective\Nself-portrait of humanity.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.99,0:10:10.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It reflects our decisions as individuals,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.58,0:10:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as governments and as industries.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.93,0:10:17.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if there's anything\NI've learned from looking at air,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.19,0:10:20.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's that even though\Nit's changing, it persists.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.12,0:10:24.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It may not support the kind of life\Nthat we'd recognize,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.74,0:10:26.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it will support something.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.47,0:10:30.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we humans\Nare such a vital part of that change,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.98,0:10:34.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it's important\Nthat we can feel this discussion.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.55,0:10:38.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because even though it's invisible,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.62,0:10:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,humans are leaving\Na very vibrant trace in the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.33,0:10:46.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.51,0:10:49.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)