One-Fifth of the Earth’s Surface

This online voyage of discovery takes water as a dynamic source of inspiration. Ghanaian artist Hakeem Adam and Zimbabwean architect Maxwell Mutanda approach transatlantic waters, from the Atlantic Ocean itself to the major rivers that flow into it, such as the Congo and Mississippi, as a constantly moving source of strength. These waters were and still are influential to power structures and many lives, for instance in merchandise trading as well as in human trafficking.

Adam and Mutanda have compiled a collection of audio-visual excerpts from a wide range of archives, which you can browse endlessly: from sugar cane machetes to the opening of the Volta Dam in Ghana. Each excerpt or object brings to light a piece of history. As you navigate the website, you are introduced to a new perspective on archiving, collaboration, and data recording and design—for example, landscapes created using geographic data on canals, dams, and intercontinental data cables beneath the ocean.