Mar 29, 2010
Death Counter
How to visualise data/information, in a tangible way, in the public realm?
Back in November I had a look at this work, DEATH COUNTER by Santiago Sierra, which was installed on the front of Hiscox Insurance HQ in central London, for the course of 2009.
The giant LED, reminiscent of the digital clocks and information boards seen throughout most major cities, tallies (in real-time) the total number of human deaths worldwide, starting from zero at 00:00:00 on the 1st of January 2009.
In terms of ‘visualising data,’ there is a simple reciprocal relationship between a binary conception of life OR death and the counter-intuitive representation of these concepts as ‘one’ (death) and ‘zero’ (life), accumulating on the huge display. Despite the potentially emotive subject matter, and the high value placed on individual human lives, the presentation is unspectacular in the extreme:
business as usual…
One quite remarkable aspect of the Sierra work, is the way in which it was funded – through a legal contract. The work was loaned to Hiscox for the duration of the exhibition, in exchange for a €150,000 life insurance policy, which would be payable in the event of the artists death.
Through a contextual balancing of an art-market value and an insurance value of the artists life, the work highlights and makes explicit the core component of the insurance industry – careful translation of the perceived, constant, risk of catastrophe into bankable capital.*
* As well as providing insurance for major banks such as Lloyds of London, Bermuda based Hiscox, provide cover in the event of kidnapping, hurricane and financial disasters. They posted pre-tax profits of £320.6m for 2009.
London Evening Standard (9/11/2009) / Insurance Daily
