How a wee Scottish village is shining a light — literally

At high tide each night, bright lights predict the underwater future.

March 16, 2019

(Niittyvirta/Aho)

Lochmaddy is a seaside village sitting at the encroaching edge of the North Atlantic.
Artists dazzling lights depict the town’s submerged future as the oceans continue rising.
It’s an unsettling visualization of global warming’s impact.

Photo credit: Niittyvirta / Aho

Lines (57° 59N, 7° 16W)

Named for Lochmaddy’s latitude and longitude, Lines (57° 59N, 7° 16W) is the creation of two Finnish artists, Pekka Niittyvirta and Timo Aho. They’ve constructed horizontal LED arrays above low-lying areas and bridges that will be submerged if the Earth’s temperatures continue to rise, and at corresponding high-water locations on the sides of endangered structures.

Floating sensors switch the LEDs on at high tide each night, bright, painful incisions in the otherwise peaceful dark. It’s a troubling sight, not least due to the incongruous appearance of such a futuristic-looking intrusion in such a serene setting. A sad one, too, making starkly clear what’s about to be lost if we don’t act quickly to save the places we love too much to lose.

(Niittyvirta/Aho)

Lines (57° 59′ N, 7° 16’W) from Pekka Niittyvirta on Vimeo.

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