Data Crystal: Portland is a three-dimensional data sculpture based on the archives of Portland’s civic memories. It transforms a data set of nine million publicly available photographs of the city into a sculpted representation of our invisible connections. This crystallization of archive into material is a public art piece that invites us to re-think the meaning of solidity and transparency as they relate to our multilayered connections with each other and within society.

Quote from Refik Anadol: “For this piece, I was inspired by the last line of Ronald Talney’s poem inscribed on the plaque that accompanies Raymond Kaskey’s sculpture, Portlandia, ‘This is how the world knows where we are.’ Through the transformation of data into a sculpture, connections emerge from invisible interactions and provide a new window to show the world where we are in this moment, in terms of technology, art, and data processing. The shape of the crystalline structure and the visuals projected on it were conceived by utilizing cutting-edge machine learning algorithms trained on the data set of Portland’s memories, as well as the most advanced robotic 3D printing technologies available. For me, Data Crystal: Portland represents an endless potential for expansion through art, technology, and the interconnected communities of this vibrant city.”