'Emergent and Erratic: Monsoonal Transmogrification of Land, Air and Sea

This series of drawings was produced for the 2019 Milan Triennale, Broken Nature, as one of the research outputs of Monsoon Assemblages, European Research Council Grant no. 679873. The aim of the project is to produce knowledge of changing monsoon climates in South Asia using methods drawn from the environmental humanities and the tools of spatial design. The drawings in this portfolio explore the monsoon at planetary and South Asian scales, in plan and in section. They were prompted by disruptions to the climatic balance at the northern and southern extremes of South Asia - Leh in Ladakh and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. In recent years the normally dry region of Ladakh has experienced a two-week season of monsoonal cloudbursts and Kanyakumari is becoming more and more drought-prone despite receiving rain from both southwest and northeast monsoons. The aim of the drawings was to understand and present the factors influencing these changing synoptic surroundings, from increased oceanic salinity to rising surface temperatures and shifting atmospheric troughs. They responded to these research questions:

• What data (geological, terrestrial, meteorological, atmospheric) is required to understand and represent the monsoon, where is this data housed and how does one access it?
• How can this data be mobilized using cartographic techniques and the tools of spatial design in order to convey the changing synoptic surroundings of Leh and Kanyakumari?

The drawings were constructed using satellite observational and climate modelling data from a range of sources, including NOAA/NCEP and NASA. Data was processed digitally using GIS, specially formulated grasshopper scripts, rhino, photoshop and illustrator.

The drawings were accompanied by an entry in the Triennale catalogue as follows: Bremner, L., Geros, C. and Cook, J. (2019). 'Emergent and Erratic: Monsoonal Transmogrification of Land, Air and Sea.' In Antonelli, P. and Tannir, A. (eds.). Broken Nature, XXII Milan Triennale, 106-107. Milan: Electa.