FRAMERATE challenges how we all perceive change – re-imagining the classic timelapse approach pioneered by BBC Natural History Unit with cutting-edge technological tools.

This stunning multi-screen artwork asks you to stop, slow down and consider the different time scales of life on earth that exist all around us. In a dark room, you are surrounded by eight screens, displaying meditative imagery as sounds drift through the space.

A pumpkin grows. Spring breaks. A thousand tonnes of steel are crushed. Sand ebbs and flows while a cliff retreats. 268 cows are milked. Leaves turn to amber. 519 pints of milk are drunk. 

Over the course of two years, ScanLAB documented the British countryside and urban cityscape in millimetre-precise 3D detail. With this enormous 50TB dataset, a brand-new kind of immersive artwork was made – telling a unique story of the impact of human industry and the immense forces of nature. The resulting work bears witness to environmental change on a scale impossible to see directly with the human eye – or the lens of traditional cameras. 

“We want our audiences to get lost inside these beautiful datasets, to be overwhelmed by the catastrophic retreat of an entire cliff in front of them, and to follow the movement of a single pebble on the beach beneath their feet,” says creator Matthew Shaw, co-founder of ScanLAB.

The artwork reveals landscape alterations caused by human-centred industry and the immense forces of nature; destruction, extraction, habitation, construction, harvests, growth, and erosion. Three-dimensional stories unfold across an array of screens, scored by a powerful soundscape.

“FRAMERATE is fundamentally about change, which is global, personal and challenging,” added creator William Trossell, co-founder of ScanLAB, “there is so much anxiety when we consider climate change and our environmental future – so we’ve created a place where people can think deeply and calmly about what’s coming.It’s a gentle place that helps open our mindset so we can focus on hopeful change – in our minds, our lives, and our personal impact.” 

Amy Rose, Undershed Curator, says: “This artwork challenges and reimagines the way we perceive our world. The distance between our everyday reality and the process of climate change is often too complex to grapple with. It is rare to find artwork that meets this vital challenge of perception – that has so much political consequence – with grace and beauty. And it is a joy to bring such a celebrated piece to Bristol – particularly when it has been loved by audiences all over the world on the festival circuit. ScanLAB Projects are putting contemporary technological tools into the service of art and magic.”

In addition to its merit as an artwork, the data collected and presented is ground-breaking scientific research. The vast dataset contains empirical evidence used by the British Geological Survey to perceive and investigate coastal erosion in a brand-new way. The results of the Innovate UK-funded research and development process continue to be used by researchers from universities and institutes across the UK.

Reflecting and deepening the studio’s relationship to sustainability is central to the core artistic vision and message of FRAMERATE. As part of the work, ScanLAB interrogated the environmental impacts of the production and the general studio practice. ScanLAB has created policies and tools to monitor project impact and foreground mindful decision-making across the studio. Results include a 70% reduction in the emissions in the 2021 on location data capture in Glasgow, as well as publishing policies, tracking tools, annual reports and case studies for other studios to study and adapt.

Alongside the exhibition, ScanLAB Projects will be running a series of participatory workshops to introduce attendees to 3D scanning. These are targeted at young people and adults with an interest in environmental and data science, and at artists who want to explore 3D scanning in their own practice. The workshops will be held at Watershed, Knowle West Media Centre, and Somerset Film, and will be free to attend. 

ScanLAB’s award-winning work has featured on the BBC, Arte, The Guardian and The New York Times and been exhibited internationally including at La Biennale di Venezia, LACMA, The Louisiana, The New Museum NYC, SXSW, CPH:DOX, STRP, the Royal Academy, Tribeca Festival, The Berliner Ensemble, Mercer Labs NYC and The Barbican.

For more info and to book your tickets visit: www.watershed.co.uk/undershed.