A Picture is Worth a Thousand Statistics

Statistics are often used to demonstrate the severity of a given situation and a call to action, but when particularly massive numbers are cited on a regular basis they become difficult to comprehend.

426,000 cell phones retired in the US every day
Photo:Chris Jordan, Copyright, Chris Jordan

This was the concern of Chris Jordan, an artist who creates large-scale images that represent the raw numbers we read about daily but fail to digest. He writes:

Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 410,000 paper cups used every fifteen minutes.

His huge, detailed photographs composed of thousands of smaller photographs visually examine these raw numbers and serve to “to emphasize the role of the individual in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming.”

Although no exhibitions of Running the Numbers are scheduled at this time, his work can be seen on his website with the caveat is that the effect is somewhat compromised when it is viewed on a computer screen instead of in person.

www.chrisjordan.com

Future Running the Numbers projects include:

“The World’s Oceans,” which looks at the numbers associated with the exploitation and destruction of our oceans, such as overfishing, illegal fishing, by-catch, ghost nets, shark finning, bottom trawling, and plastic pollution.

“Africa,” which will be featured at the TED Africa Conference in Capetown, and depicts numbers related to contemporary Africa, such as refugees, water-borne disease, child pregnancy and others, as well as some more hopeful issues such as African Internet and cell phone usage and micro-lending.

And “The Extinction trade,” which will look at statistics associated with the worldwide mass killing and trading of animals for their tusks, horns, eggs, paws, teeth, fur, etc.