This project focuses on visualisation strategies of ecological research and transformations of pictures as they move between science and society. Visual figures are generated and defended depending on their historical, cultural or methodological context. These figures represent metaphysical perceptions and epistemic models. They differ in technique, strategy and presentation. We believe that ecological research may be deemed a mapping matrix for conceptions of nature. The same phenomenon exists in different scientific, national, philosophical, and geographic cultures. The extent to which a piece of nature is considered capitalisable, unreliable, dangerous, contemplative, or worthy of protection depends on its cultural environment and our scientific society.

We consider this unconventional pairing of scientific research and media studies to offer important and innovative insight into the poitics of nature. Viewed from a media-scientific perspective, the use of photography and film is interesting in two respects: One, both methods have a critical impact on the progression of practices and theories; two, plenty of new media techniques have developed historically a a result of certain scientific methods. Image transfers also play a central role in the popularisation and mass circulation of ecological knowledge. With this project, we want to analyse the genesis, technical production, and epistemological status of images – being as they are a direct extension of scientific and philosophical problems.

The aim of the project is to map visual cultures of ecological research. This literally means connecting geographical data with images. These images may be sketches or charts, but mostly they are photographs of research objects, locations, people, or institutions. The web-based information system prototype arising from this cataloguing should be used as a heuristic instrument. Issues are hereby developed and confronted from the viewpoint of epistemology and media science.

We digitize the collected data and index it in a database. High-quality search and compilation functions develop from the cooperation of all project partners. This creates the basis for further research activities. Towards this end, innovative web and mapping technologies are employed.

This project has been supervised by Astrid Schwarz (TU Darmstadt) and Angela Krewani (University of Marburg). The construction of the website and database has been realised by Jutta Weisel, Stefan Aumann, and Johanna Bolkart.
The project has been sponsored by the Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst, Landesinitiative hessen-media, Kapitel 07 05 – Förderprodukt 24, 2008/09.