mapping ‘order’ Green ‘chaos’

Through this project, I have tried to interpret the idea of ‘order’ in a local context and therefore I wanted to talk about how we need more trees, more greenery for the urban landscape of Karachi. Thinking about what it means to have technology like google maps and the possibilities we have at our disposal to bring individual change in the system. I have used the idea of google pin in juxtaposition to a tree. I am planting these digital trees over the virtual existence of the space I occupy physically, places I have familiarised myself with over the last 8 years while living here and calling Karachi home. Feeling the absence of trees, I am also reminiscing how I used to have more trees around , more flowers, fresher air in Lahore my home city.

This performative new media work becomes a self-reflection of things I was not able to do for the community but in hope that this piece compensates for the lost chances and opportunities. My hand moving/navigating/drawing trees is a metaphor for bringing aesthetic value to ecosystem of Karachi. By using a custom code to generate an animated visual with an intention that it highlights the issue and enforces a positive change. Although this piece was put together for the purpose of bringing awareness towards the cause, the process of creation/interaction with a new mediation/coding made me think about the role of scrutiny/surveillance structures such as technological devices and political power structures which hinders the actual execution of planting activities in the city.