Other Bodies
Artist
Sock Redding & Tom deMajo
Format
Looping video & sound
Data
Satellite Imagery
Source
ESA; modified Copernicus Sentinel data, processed by ESA; USGS; NASA; Airbus Defence and Space
Imagine if the Arctic were an entire planet—or if all the Earth’s atmosphere was permanently bathed in a rose-tinted dawn. What would these unfamiliar worlds look like? And what would it feel like to encounter them, to lose yourself in their strange beauty?
Still from Other Bodies, by Sock Redding and Tom deMajo
Ars Electronica, MTF Labs, 2024
Image credit: Tom deMajo, Sock Redding
During 2024, artist Sock Redding explored the poetic potential of high-resolution satellite imagery, working with visuals of particular ecosystems, such as oceans, deserts, and plains. Using digital software, they transformed these familiar scenes by warping them into spherical shapes—creating otherworldly, digital “planetoids”.
“This series sees satellite images of our planet transformed into isolated worlds of their own. A feedback loop viewed from orbit, digital winds dance across undulating geography. It is ultimately up to the observer whether these transformations are creative or destructive, tangible or abstract, profound or forgettable. Observation is not, and has never been, a neutral act”, says Redding.
Still from Other Bodies, by Sock Redding and Tom deMajo
Ars Electronica, MTF Labs, 2024
Image credit: Tom deMajo, Sock Redding
Pioneer artist Tom deMajo worked these “planetoids” into a short video and composed a haunting soundtrack. The result was a hypnotic installation at Ars Electronica 2023—so immersive that viewers were drawn physically into the projection space, compelled to move closer and engage with on a physical level – crouching, sitting, or calmly watching.
Still from Other Bodies, by Sock Redding and Tom deMajo
Ars Electronica, MTF Labs, 2024
Image credit: Sitara Kapur
Workshops were instrumental to the collaborative process: “During one of the pioneer workshops Red did some really cool stuff visualising their “planetoids” – you could even control it live”, says deMajo. “So I started live composing to it and we started jamming - it seemed to really work together.” This was a pivotal moment, leading from improvisation toward a finished piece at 8k resolution.
Still from Other Bodies, by Sock Redding and Tom deMajo
Ars Electronica, MTF Labs, 2024
Image credit: Sitara Kapur
Satellite images are at once familiar reminders of home, of the heavenly “body” we live on, and yet, this very body is strange to us – the images evoke a feeling of peculiarity, of being alien. deMajo says: “We agreed to call it “other bodies”. It’s an exploration of other planets – playing with identity, and the idea of alienness, both to explore and acknowledge the human body and images to create a short exploration of otherness.”
Still from Other Bodies, by Sock Redding and Tom deMajo
Ars Electronica, MTF Labs, 2024
Image credit: Tom deMajo, Sock Redding
