A change in perspective is always a good thing. The human condition dictates that we function as if we are the center of the universe, and our daily issues are the most important. There’s something simultaneously frightening and comforting in remembering how little we are, in the grand scheme of things.
The Instagram account @dailyoverview reroutes our perspective on the daily, by gathering images from satellites on Google Earth and making art of them. In fact, the first Overview book is being released this fall and is available for pre-order.
“The overview effect,” is a phenomenon, a cognitive shift experienced by astronauts as they see our planet suspended in space. The detachment from earth and the ability to see everything as one creates a new kind of understanding about our place in the universe. Daily Overview hopes to spark a similar thought process — some photos show how the intersection of nature and man turn the planet into a geometric playground, while others serve as a devastating reminder of our destructive presence. Every single one of them forces us to consider our impact.
Account owner Benjamin Grant said this of the account on BBC’s Newsnight program:
“It enables you to see so much, to see something you would never be able to grasp from the ground.”
