[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.15,0:00:04.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I asked you to picture the air,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.10,0:00:06.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what do you imagine?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.91,0:00:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most people think about either empty space
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.42,0:00:14.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or clear blue sky
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.50,0:00:17.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or sometimes trees dancing in the wind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.85,0:00:21.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then I remember my high school\Nchemistry teacher with really long socks
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.55,0:00:22.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the blackboard,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.76,0:00:26.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,drawing diagrams of bubbles\Nconnected to other bubbles,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.19,0:00:30.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and describing how they vibrate\Nand collide in a kind of frantic soup.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.21,0:00:35.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But really, we tend not to think\Nabout the air that much at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.68,0:00:38.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We notice it mostly
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.39,0:00:42.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when there's some kind of unpleasant\Nsensory intrusion upon it,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.51,0:00:47.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like a terrible smell\Nor something visible like smoke or mist.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.13,0:00:50.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it's always there.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.21,0:00:53.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's touching all of us right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.71,0:00:55.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's even inside us.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.01,0:01:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our air is immediate, vital and intimate.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.06,0:01:05.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, it's so easily forgotten.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.01,0:01:09.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what is the air?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.10,0:01:13.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the combination of the invisible\Ngases that envelop the Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.87,0:01:16.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attracted by the Earth's\Ngravitational pull.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.27,0:01:20.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even though I'm a visual artist,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.72,0:01:24.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm interested in\Nthe invisibility of the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.63,0:01:27.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm interested in how we imagine it,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.23,0:01:29.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how we experience it
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.30,0:01:33.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how we all have an innate\Nunderstanding of its materiality
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.14,0:01:34.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through breathing.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.53,0:01:42.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All life on Earth changes the air\Nthrough gas exchange,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.21,0:01:43.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're all doing it right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.68,0:01:47.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, why don't we all\Nright now together take
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.67,0:01:50.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one big, collective, deep breath in.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.46,0:01:52.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ready? In. (Inhales)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.01,0:01:56.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And out. (Exhales)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.78,0:02:01.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That air that you just exhaled,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.48,0:02:05.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you enriched a hundred times\Nin carbon dioxide.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.36,0:02:12.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So roughly five liters of air per breath,\N17 breaths per minute
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.52,0:02:18.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the 525,600 minutes per year,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.12,0:02:23.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes to approximately\N45 million liters of air,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.60,0:02:27.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enriched 100 times in carbon dioxide,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.62,0:02:28.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just for you.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.82,0:02:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, that's equivalent to about 18\NOlympic-sized swimming pools.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.20,0:02:38.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For me, air is plural.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.43,0:02:41.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's simultaneously\Nas small as our breathing
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.53,0:02:43.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as big as the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.69,0:02:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's kind of hard to picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.59,0:02:51.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe it's impossible,\Nand maybe it doesn't matter.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.98,0:02:54.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Through my visual arts practice,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.62,0:02:58.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try to make air, not so much picture it,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.33,0:03:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but to make it visceral\Nand tactile and haptic.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.18,0:03:07.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try to expand this notion\Nof the aesthetic, how things look,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.01,0:03:11.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that it can include things\Nlike how it feels on your skin
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.64,0:03:13.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in your lungs,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.37,0:03:16.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how your voice sounds\Nas it passes through it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.03,0:03:22.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I explore the weight, density and smell,\Nbut most importantly,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.54,0:03:26.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think a lot about the stories we attach\Nto different kinds of air.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.09,0:03:33.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a work I made in 2014.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.87,0:03:37.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's called "Different Kinds\Nof Air: A Plant's Diary,"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.100,0:03:41.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I was recreating the air\Nfrom different eras in Earth's evolution,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.93,0:03:44.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and inviting the audience\Nto come in and breathe them with me.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.95,0:03:48.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's really surprising,\Nso drastically different.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.84,0:03:51.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I'm not a scientist,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.96,0:03:54.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but atmospheric scientists\Nwill look for traces
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.96,0:03:57.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the air chemistry in geology,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.74,0:04:00.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a bit like how rocks can oxidize,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.08,0:04:03.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they'll extrapolate\Nthat information and aggregate it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.45,0:04:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such that they can\Npretty much form a recipe
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.62,0:04:08.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the air at different times.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.71,0:04:11.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then I come in as the artist\Nand take that recipe
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.37,0:04:14.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and recreate it using the component gases.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.02,0:04:19.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was particularly interested\Nin moments of time
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.77,0:04:23.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are examples\Nof life changing the air,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.84,0:04:27.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also the air that can influence\Nhow life will evolve,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.97,0:04:30.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Carboniferous air.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.58,0:04:34.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's from about 300 to 350\Nmillion years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.54,0:04:38.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's an era known\Nas the time of the giants.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.32,0:04:41.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for the first time\Nin the history of life,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.81,0:04:43.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lignin evolves.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.23,0:04:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the hard stuff\Nthat trees are made of.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.58,0:04:49.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So trees effectively invent\Ntheir own trunks at this time,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.13,0:04:51.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they get really big,\Nbigger and bigger,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.20,0:04:52.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and pepper the Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.58,0:04:55.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,releasing oxygen, releasing\Noxygen, releasing oxygen,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.90,0:04:59.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such that the oxygen levels\Nare about twice as high
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.54,0:05:00.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as what they are today.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.60,0:05:05.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this rich air supports\Nmassive insects --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.49,0:05:11.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,huge spiders and dragonflies\Nwith a wingspan of about 65 centimeters.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.37,0:05:16.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To breathe, this air is really clean\Nand really fresh.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.31,0:05:17.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It doesn't so much have a flavor,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.00,0:05:22.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it does give your body\Na really subtle kind of boost of energy.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.50,0:05:24.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really good for hangovers.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.39,0:05:26.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.62,0:05:29.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or there's the air of the Great Dying --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.32,0:05:32.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's about 252.5 million years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.96,0:05:35.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just before the dinosaurs evolve.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.03,0:05:38.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a really short time period,\Ngeologically speaking,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.79,0:05:41.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from about 20- to 200,000 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.77,0:05:43.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Really quick.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.18,0:05:46.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the greatest extinction event\Nin Earth's history,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.89,0:05:49.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even bigger than when\Nthe dinosaurs died out.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.22,0:05:54.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eighty-five to 95 percent of species\Nat this time die out,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.20,0:05:59.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and simultaneous to that is a huge,\Ndramatic spike in carbon dioxide,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.40,0:06:00.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that a lot of scientists agree
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.01,0:06:04.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes from a simultaneous\Neruption of volcanoes
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.18,0:06:06.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a runaway greenhouse effect.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.98,0:06:12.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oxygen levels at this time go\Nto below half of what they are today,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.61,0:06:13.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so about 10 percent.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.93,0:06:16.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this air would definitely not\Nsupport human life,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.83,0:06:18.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's OK to just have a breath.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.88,0:06:21.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And to breathe, it's oddly comforting.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.94,0:06:24.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really calming, it's quite warm
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.89,0:06:29.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it has a flavor a little bit\Nlike soda water.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.06,0:06:31.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has that kind of spritz,\Nquite pleasant.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.92,0:06:35.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So with all this thinking\Nabout air of the past,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.38,0:06:39.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's quite natural to start thinking\Nabout the air of the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.14,0:06:42.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And instead of being speculative with air
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.96,0:06:46.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and just making up what I think\Nmight be the future air,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.50,0:06:49.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I discovered this human-synthesized air.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.74,0:06:53.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That means that it doesn't occur\Nanywhere in nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.74,0:06:56.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's made by humans in a laboratory
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.88,0:07:00.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for application in different\Nindustrial settings.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.58,0:07:02.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is it future air?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.54,0:07:07.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, this air is a really stable molecule
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.90,0:07:11.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will literally be part of the air\Nonce it's released,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.54,0:07:15.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the next 300 to 400 years,\Nbefore it's broken down.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.27,0:07:20.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that's about 12 to 16 generations.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.43,0:07:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this future air has\Nsome very sensual qualities.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.81,0:07:27.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's very heavy.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.78,0:07:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about eight times heavier\Nthan the air we're used to breathing.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.43,0:07:36.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's so heavy, in fact,\Nthat when you breathe it in,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.49,0:07:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whatever words you speak\Nare kind of literally heavy as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.91,0:07:43.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they dribble down your chin\Nand drop to the floor
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.14,0:07:44.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and soak into the cracks.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.22,0:07:48.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's an air that operates\Nquite a lot like a liquid.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.05,0:07:53.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this air comes\Nwith an ethical dimension as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.23,0:07:55.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Humans made this air,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.02,0:08:00.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's also the most potent\Ngreenhouse gas
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.30,0:08:02.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that has ever been tested.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.04,0:08:08.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Its warming potential is 24,000 times\Nthat of carbon dioxide,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.80,0:08:12.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it has that longevity\Nof 12 to 16 generations.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.24,0:08:18.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this ethical confrontation\Nis really central to my work.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.56,0:08:35.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(In a lowered voice) It has\Nanother quite surprising quality.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.48,0:08:38.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It changes the sound of your voice\Nquite dramatically.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.92,0:08:42.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.14,0:08:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we start to think -- ooh!\NIt's still there a bit.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.16,0:08:49.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.62,0:08:52.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we think about climate change,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.23,0:08:58.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we probably don't think about\Ngiant insects and erupting volcanoes
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.23,0:08:59.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or funny voices.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.21,0:09:03.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The images that more readily come to mind
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.74,0:09:08.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are things like retreating glaciers\Nand polar bears adrift on icebergs.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.48,0:09:12.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We think about pie charts\Nand column graphs
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.36,0:09:16.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and endless politicians\Ntalking to scientists wearing cardigans.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.08,0:09:22.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But perhaps it's time we start\Nthinking about climate change
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.30,0:09:26.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the same visceral level\Nthat we experience the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.74,0:09:33.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like air, climate change is simultaneously\Nat the scale of the molecule,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.20,0:09:35.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the breath and the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.14,0:09:40.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's immediate, vital and intimate,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.64,0:09:44.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as being amorphous and cumbersome.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.45,0:09:49.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, it's so easily forgotten.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.74,0:09:55.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Climate change is the collective\Nself-portrait of humanity.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.65,0:09:58.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It reflects our decisions as individuals,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.24,0:10:00.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as governments and as industries.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.59,0:10:04.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if there's anything\NI've learned from looking at air,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.85,0:10:08.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's that even though\Nit's changing, it persists.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.78,0:10:12.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It may not support the kind of life\Nthat we'd recognize,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.40,0:10:14.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it will support something.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.13,0:10:18.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we humans are such a vital\Npart of that change,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.64,0:10:22.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it's important\Nthat we can feel the discussion.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.21,0:10:26.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because even though it's invisible,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.28,0:10:31.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,humans are leaving\Na very vibrant trace in the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.99,0:10:34.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.23,0:10:36.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)