Datamasser og sansemiljøer: Om den performative iscenesættelse af big data

Th is article explores a major trend in current digital culture to visualise massive data sets in the form of abstract, dynamic environments. Th is ‘performative’ staging of big data manifests what we could think of as big data aesthetics proper because it gives the ‘big’ and ‘massive’ properties of big data a direct and perceptible visual expression. Drawing on several recent examples of big data visualisation, the article examines the diff erent manifestations and aesthetic potential of such performative big data aesthetics. It is concluded that the performative ‘massifi cation’ of big data in abstract environments has important implications for our everyday communication with and through data because it potentially generates a confl ict between the comprehension of information and a more abstract and defocused ‘ambient’ sensation of being surrounded by a ubiquitous and all-encompassing sensory environment.