WTG 1.0


WAKING The GIANTS is a recurring multidisciplinary art project that addresses connections between collective consciousness and anthropogenic climate issues by artists Aya Tarek and Simon Petermann.

Visual identity of WTG 0.1 by Nada Ezzeldin (2022)


The first season of WAKING The GIANTS took place in 2022 through collaborations between Tarek, Petermann, and scientists from the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich. For their research, they collected data on climate change and categorized them under seven different scenes, specifically addressing Global Climate, Cryosphere, Hydrosphere, Heat and Drought, Irreversibility Tipping Points, Vulnerability of Society and Data/Science. This data was eventually translated to visual and audible material which took form in an art exhibition.

Visualization of global climate temperature projections (Switzerland and Egypt) by Kateriene Petermann.


Petermann sonified the data collected and analyzed by the scientists to create his own
musical translation. Creating an ominous-sounding melody and distributing it across the exhibition space for the audience to hear from the moment they step into the space until they leave was conceptually essential for the artwork. Within the same space, the audience were presented with three massive screens showcasing animations by Tarek. The centerpiece depicted an amalgamation
of the visualizations created from the scientific data and a black and white video animation. The two other screens presented the viewers with scenes related to biblically inspired visuals that depict the artist’s own perception of relationships between climate change and collective spiritual beliefs.


Exhibition Text
WTG Website

Waking the Giants: A Mini Documentary on Climate Action from Cairo, Bern and Zurich, Featuring Interviews with Artists and Scientists from ETH University Zurich.


With Simon Pettermann at jungfraujoch, photo by ©Roland Juker (2022)