a physical visualization of the world population demographics, by mapping 1 grain of rice to represent 1 human being. in the "of all the people in all the world" installation, population statistics are separated out in different piles to juxtapose compelling social phenomena, such as the comparison of all the prisoners in the world versus all the people in gated communities (roughly equal).
the exact statistics shown depend on the location where the exhibition is shown. the labels accompanying the piles mention facts, but list no numbers. "we know how big a grain of rice is; we can see that the pile showing the number of Africans taken on British ships to be slaves, for example, is made up of a horrifyingly large number of grains. to render the fact as a number would be to diminish it.
watch 2 documentary movies after the break.
[link: stanscafe.co.uk & theage.com.au & tv.boingboing.net]
see also news-controlled rice cooker & tangible data visualization.
