“A lot of people said they loved the book, but that their children
loved it more. They're reading the books to their kids at night.”
What were some of the Overview images that
made a lasting impression on you? Why so?
I would have to say it was one of the ones I
discovered first, of a refugee camp in Kenya. It was a
beautiful image with reds and browns and symmetry set
amidst a stunning landscape, but then when you learn
about what you’re seeing in the image—the world’s
largest refugee camp with more than 450,000 displaced
refugees—you have to take a step back and consider the
fact that you can enjoy the aesthetics of something that
you’re looking at but also struggle with the fact that you
still like it. I think that is exemplary of what the project
has become. It’s a new and interesting way to often
show things that are destructive or negative. It's made
me realize just how powerful imagery could be.
and it was just so interesting to hear that the kids were
loving it so much. And this inspired me to start another
conversation with Penguin Random House to explore
the idea of doing a children’s book, so it was an idea that
came from other people and now it is potentially going
to happen. This is an amazing example of putting an idea
out there and getting to see how people react to it and
who might like it, to find that its very different from who
you imagined it to be, and that it can lead to new and
exciting opportunities.
Where do you intend to take the Daily Overview
project next?
I would love to open a physical space. A gallery in
San Francisco, where I live, to not only have somewhere
to display our imagery and our art but also to hold
events and talks related to the overview effect. I don’t
necessarily know what the timeline is for a project like
that, but that’s where I see it going.
What inspired your decision to create a book out of
the Daily Overview project?
I’ve always thought of doing a book. I think it made
a lot of sense to bring together what I’ve done so far in a
cohesive, beautiful and tangible way. It’s amazing to have
something physical and solid to show your work rather
than something that just exists digitally. It’s a wonderful
feeling to be able to hand someone a book and say that it’s
representative of what you do.
This is our Starters issue, basically where we
celebrate that initial stage, the stage where you
start things. However like all things that begin,
there is an end. Have you foreseen the end of the
Daily Overview project and are you considering
starting off a new one?
I would love to. I think I need to get this project
somewhere that is self-sustaining, where I can kind of
move away from it, or end it at some point. But I don’t
think the project will continue to exist exactly as it is
now. I see it changing and doing a whole number of
different things. That’s a decision for me to make over
time. It’s a great question. I’ll have to make a decision as
I go along to see what makes the most sense, but I can
see it going either way.
Are there any interesting anecdotes or instances
related to the project and its viewers, perhaps how
they reacted to the images, that made a mark on you?
One thing that happened that I love to talk about is
when the book came out, a lot of people said they loved the
book, but that their children loved it more. They’re reading
the book to their kids at night. And they were able to teach
them new stories about the environment, about what we’re
doing to the planet, and then teach them the concepts
Keep an eye on the world with the Daily Overview on Instagram at @dailyoverview and at dailyoverview.com
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