On the Aesthetics of Environmental Data.The Work of Forensic Architecture between Forms of Reporting and Artistic Practice

In the framework of theoretical analyses proposed by stud-ies of the “geographies of the Anthropocene”, attention is fo-cused on the representation of territories in the convergen-ces between media, technologies and digital cartography. This aesthetic approach finds favourable ground in protest movements which remain as yet unexamined in any depth. Among these, Forensic Architecture – the University of Lon-don’s whistleblower research centre at Goldsmiths, founded in 2010 – stands out. Composed mainly of scientists, archi-tects, journalists and filmmakers, the team carries out rig-orous mapping of environmental data which focuses on im-aging as a diagnostic practice, analysing the environmental situation, transforming the way in which data is visualised in civic practice through artistic and performative initia-tives, and expanding the canonical boundaries of the frui-tion of forensic art. This paper aims to focus attention on the practices of Forensic Architecture, whose work is regularly shown in international art or architecture exhibitions, and its reuse of images which find form in denunciation and collec-tive awareness. The article will also examine the audiovisual products documenting a decade of research in the territories of Palestine: “Counter-forensics in Palestine” (2012-2022).