As part of London Festival of Architecture 2008, award-winning media production studio Squint/Opera envisions London life in 2090, long after sea levels have risen from global warming. Imitating some of the techniques of the super-idealistic Victorian landscape painters, Squint/Opera have used a combination of photography, 3d modeling and digital manipulation to present five unique visions of a tranquil utopia in a familiar, yet drastically altered, landscape.
In a conversation with Inhabitat, Squint/Opera designer Nick Taylor explained how these images predict that humans will adapt to changed landscapes; “the images are optimistic and reveal that far from being a tragedy, the floods have brought about a much-improved way of life to the capital city.” One image sees a man preparing to dive off a ledge in St Paul’s Cathedral and another sees a couple rigging up pre-flood artifacts to get makeshift machinery to power a light bulb.
The ‘Flooded London’ exhibit is open from 20 June-20 July at London’s Medcalf Gallery, EC1R 4QE. There will also be an evening event held at Medcalf with Squint/Opera on 18th July 08 to celebrate the exhibit.
+ Squint/Opera
+ Flooded London [LDF 2008]
+ London Festival of Architecture 2008 (20th June – 21st July)
Copyright Images © Squint/Opera.
Just makes you wanna take a dip, doesn’t it? Only I’m still trying to figure out how, in all the recent images I’ve seen from Ellis’ FreakAngel webcomic to that lilypad city, the water is crystal clear. Must be the collective expectation of an Old Testament-style miracle … or something.