DELTA T
In search of mirages to reflect on the delicate balance between ecosystems
Inspired by Werner Herzog’s movie Fata Morgana, ΔT unfolds as a journey through landscapes in search of thermal mirages. Equipped with a scientific thermal camera, participants reveal invisible infrared radiation and explore the hidden exchanges of heat that constantly shape the world around us.
Temperature is a physical property that we can measure—and, within controlled environments, even regulate. This ability has profoundly expanded humanity’s capacity to inhabit and transform the planet.
But what happens when the Earth’s thermal balance is disrupted?
ΔT invites participants to reflect on this question by making the invisible visible. Through the intersection of scientific observation and artistic exploration, the workshop reveals the fragile thermal relationships that sustain ecosystems and encourages new ways of perceiving our changing environment.
About the workshop
The workshop unfolds in two interconnected phases. It begins with an introduction to the physics of light, the electromagnetic spectrum, and infrared radiation, providing participants with the scientific tools to understand how thermal cameras reveal phenomena normally hidden from human perception.
Participants then embark on a collective exploration of urban and natural environments equipped with a professional thermal camera. Streets, vegetation, water, rocks, buildings, and the human body become subjects of observation, revealing the continuous exchange of heat that shapes the thermal balance of ecosystems. Through direct experimentation, participants investigate urban heat islands, the cooling effects of vegetation, the thermal properties of different materials, and the invisible traces left by living bodies.
The workshop concludes with a collective discussion around the thermal images and videos produced during the exploration. Scientific observation, artistic interpretation, and shared reflection converge to transform invisible physical processes into new ways of understanding our relationship with climate, landscapes, and the environments we inhabit.
CREDITS
Created by
Michele Libralato, PhD in Energy and Environmental Engineering Sciences at University of Udine
Francesco Scarel, science communicator and curator
Partners
FLIR
Performed at
Festival dell’Acqua di Staranzano
Festival della Biodiversità – Parco Nord Milano
Aeson Festival – Arti della Natura
Un altro Parco in Città – Pistoia
Festival CollegaMenti – Univ Udine