Climate Monsters

Climate Monsters is an Augmented Reality installation and illustrated narrative, co-created with the Mendell Elementary School kindergarten classes, that imagines the threats of water-related climate change as mythological monsters and visualizes their dangerous presence in the Boston Harbor.

The project draws inspiration from the literary genre of speculative fiction that explores compelling “what ifs” about worlds and human societies both familiar and imagined. As fictional stories allow us to confront the seemingly unexplainable, make overwhelming subjects digestible, and write new possibilities into existence, Climate Monsters allows us to absorb the urgency of climate risk and consider potential solutions to an overwhelming problem with new perspective. The kindergartener’s story was transformed into an illustrated children’s book and brought to life through ViewFinders outfitted to house AR technology that displays animated monster scenes from the story unfolding across the Fort Point Channel.

Special thanks to project collaborators:
Little Uprisings, for student workshop programming and facilitation.
Sergio Riccardi, for 3D modeling and fabrication.
John Barns, for fabrication and installation.