Overlooked opportunities: Addressing global challenges through cross-cultural political and ecological digital art by reinterpretation of traditional Eastern art and philosophy

This paper is informed by a series of digital moving image art works that address current global challenges such as climate change or decline of democracy in an alternative way to word-wide audiences in the East and West by re-investigating and celebrating some values and traditions of Eastern art and culture as an overlooked, rich resource. The research process is practice-based and cross-cultural artefacts are created which are informed by aesthetic and philosophical tradition of Eastern art as well as critical approach of Western contemporary practice. Using digital media technologies idea and materiality of traditional Chinese scrolls of landscape and cityscape are adapted and remediated into animated video scrolls or video paintings. By inclusion of documentary video footage each makes a critical comment on a different subject such as the Tsunami 2011 in Japan or Tianamen Square Events 2009 in Beijing. Adopting Eastern scroll paintings to digital moving image has become quite common for Eastern artists. The body of work presented here was made by a Western artist and therefore engages additionally in translation and interpretation of cultural heritage into different contexts and cultural paradigms. These cross-cultural artefacts act as agents to foster discussion about the nature of global art practice as well as new forms of digital moving image. It results in intermedia practice that provides slow moving, contemplative narrative progression and invites the viewer to reflect on habituated pattern of media reception and to see its contents with ‘fresh eyes’.