Mary Mark & Dror Margalit
2023-2024 *This Is Not A Drill* Student Fellows
Mary Mark (b. in Minsk, Belarus; based in Brooklyn, NY) is an emerging new media artist who experiments with movement and technology to tell stories in virtual and physical spaces. Mary holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University in disaster risk modeling and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Interactive Telecommunication Program (ITP) at NYU Tisch. Mary’s research investigates societal losses and inequity in climate-related disasters and other catastrophes. Her artwork combines performance, generative AI, motion capture, and abstraction in story-telling, and includes large-scale projection and video installations.
Dror Margalit is an interactive media creator and a graduate student in the Interactive Telecommunication Program (ITP) at NYU’s Tisch. He has a B.S. in media studies from the New School and a background in filmmaking, marketing, and human resource management. Much of Dror’s work explores language, learning, and how they are mediated through digital media and AI tools. Furthermore, Dror combines a deep understanding of human behavior, playful systems, and visual storytelling to create experiences that evoke empathy and invite people to connect with themselves and the emotions of others.
PROJECT
Reflecting Forward is an interactive video installation in which the viewers are invited to reflect on the possible future climates and their role in making them. The installation will explore the concept of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways – five scenarios that represent the possible emission, climatic, and social futures – which have been agreed on by the global scientific community and are used to develop climate policies. Through this experience the viewers will be introduced to the idea of alternative pathways, creating an emotional connection between today’s reality and the climate emergency. We hope to make the vast and often scientific issue of climate change more tangible and relatable and prompt the audience to reflect on their actions, get familiar with the possible climate scenarios, and envision the path to a favorable future.