A Heart from Space is a tool for collective GPS drawing. To draw together, gather a group of people and visit this website on a mobile phone.
The website draws a line between the GPS positions of the online users in your group. The participants collectively determine the shape of the heart, adjusting their positions relative to the group.
The project is an exploration of the ability for the internet to support collective action. The independent actions of each user in response to the view of the collective refines the image, creating a metaphor of independent actors working together to achieve collective aims through interfaces that help them understand their interconnected nature.
The project was created by Jonathan Chomko, inspired by a conversation with Yo-Yo Ma. Chomko and Ma met in 2018 during a performance of Chomko's project www.grindruberairbnb.exposed during Ma's Bach Project performance in Montreal. www.grindruberairbnb.exposed guides participants via their smartphones to move and gesture in sync, generating performance out of participantion. Hearing about the work, Ma envisioned the system guiding the gathering of hundreds of thousands and people to create a heart that would be visible from space.
A Heart from Space is a version of this vision, that enables groups to create shapes together using their GPS location. The experience de-centers the individual in the digital experience, making explicit links between the users, challenging them to work together to create a heart.
To read more about the project, click here:
Credits
Inspiration: Yo-Yo Ma
Video: Isaac Vallentin
Thank you to all the participants whose efforts made the project possible!