Nasa’s 1969 earthrise and 1972 blue marble images of the earth from space had wide-     ranging impact and inspired the environmental movement of the 1970s. The aerial view from flying machines and satellites offers a perspective from which the human impact on the earth can be made visible. Feminist and postcolonial critiques of this disembodied ‘god trick’ have questioned the efficacy of this way of viewing the earth.

This theme invites submissions that explore how photography and imaging measure, record and investigate the Anthropocene and Climate Emergency.

Perspectival positions and technological developments have extended human vision to a vast range of microscopic and macroscopic distances from objects of study. The relational shifts of distance and the relative scale of bodies to various objects of study can render significant changes in understanding and value. How have artists and photographers altered our perceptions of scale and import or brought new awareness of inequities through explorations of nearness, distance and relative size?

This theme invites submissions that explore relational aesthetics in the context of distance and scale.

The flattening effect of the aerial view leads to images that are often abstracted, removed from linear perspective and devoid of easily recognisable forms. Certain imaging processes can lead to interference, glitches and other imperfections in the image. Depending on the intended social, cultural or political use of aerial images, people have set out to interpret, misinterpret or embrace abstraction.

This theme invites submissions that explore the use of abstraction and the role of interpretation and misinterpretation in the use of and encounter with images on the vertical axis.

The aerial view is often synonymous with a disembodied ‘God’s Eye View’ exercising surveillance, control and power, often without clear accountability. On the other hand, artists, advertisers, campaigners and protesters have often created structures, buildings, images and text pieces on the ground with the intention of being seen from above as acts of awareness or resistance.

This theme invites submissions that explore the ways in which architecture, art, commerce and protest utilise, interrupt or subvert the aerial view.   

Scanning technologies such as Lidar enables the 3D mapping of objects, buildings and the surface of the earth from the air. At the micro level 3D scanning microscopy can image down to an atomic scale. These images are utilised in art, architecture, geography, cartography. This 3D material can be rendered in 3D software to produce environments and virtual worlds which can be experienced in linear and interactive forms through film, games, virtual and augmented reality.

This theme invites submissions that investigate 3D imaging and the generation of virtual worlds on the vertical axis.

From the first world war onwards the ability to capture aerial images has been a key part of the way wars have been fought. The increasing use of UAVs or Drones from 2001 onwards, and the development of machines that can both ‘see’ and fire weaponry, has led to an expansion of the possible theatres of war, and an increase in remote surveillance and killing.

This themes invites calls for submissions that investigate how artists and photographers have created work that investigates the use of the aerial view in conflict.

Please submit proposals for papers or presentations of practice-based work that fit the general conference theme but not the specific themes to the open call.