Risk on display at the Rolex Learning Center
© Alain Herzog
Starting October 16, 2012, EPFL’s Rolex Learning Center hosts Risk In Sight, an exhibit that invites the public to take an objective, measured look at the omnipresence of risk in the world around us.
What do market crashes, floods, air traffic control, the construction of an Olympic stadium or a mountain refuge, and the burial of nuclear waste have in common? Risk! The exhibit Risk in Sight, open to the public in EPFL’s Rolex Learning Center, explores the various significations we have attributed to risk through audio and visual installations, photographs, video models, interactive interfaces and a documentary film. Twenty-four scientists, nine risk professionals and six artists have come together under the direction of EPFL scientist Valerie November to put this exhibit together.
“Not a single day passes in which we are not informed of a catastrophe or a potential danger,” says November. “Instead, faced with this media hype, the Risk In Sight exhibit looks at the problem in a different way, asking if living with risk is really so catastrophic after all.” The exhibit features four thematic areas: “Identifying,” “Inhabiting,” “Debating,” and “Living with” risks. The subject is richly illustrated with contributions from a variety of scientific areas, including engineering, life sciences, architecture, finance, geography and the social sciences.
The sculpture-installation “Parazite” by plastic artist Gilles Perez invites the visitor to ponder whether he is looking at an underwater mine, a virus or an egg as he passes through, listening to an audio composition evoking risks. The scientific documentary Gardiens du risque, by Mélanie Pitteloud, gives a glimpse into the daily lives of those who are constantly on disaster alert, ensuring that air traffic, highway traffic, and power plants operate smoothly. Tony Arborino’s visual animation illustrates the danger situation that would arise if the Rhone river valley flooded. And these are just a few highlights; the exhibit opens October 16, 2012.
More information on risk inSight website.
- Practical Information -
Rolex Learning Center EPFL [map]
Monday-Friday 10h-18h
Saturday 10h-20h
- Other events related to the exhibit -
Guided tours with Valérie November
Wednesday October 17, 18h, with film screening-discussion « Les gardiens du risque » with Mélanie Pitteloud
Saturday October 27, 16h
Monday November 5, 18h
Public “science café” Wednesday, October 31, 2012
« Science ! On tourne » on the theme of risk
WIth Eugen Brühwiler and Valérie November, Rolex Learning Center
Broadcast live on www.epfl.ch.
Links
Images to download
