The Shapes and Sounds of Visa Inequality

Experience an immersive audio-reactive visual journey that brings data to life. Turn up the volume and let the data sing.

Presented by Tiziana Alocci and LAGO Collective
Commissioned by Lago Collective, this project transforms Schengen visa rejection rates from 2023 into a unique audio-visual narrative. Through sound and shape, the inequality in visa accessibility becomes tangible, highlighting the disproportionate rejection rates faced by low and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa.

Adding Emotion to Data Through Data Sonification
Data sonification, the process of transforming data into sound, adds an emotional dimension to information that might otherwise remain abstract. By pairing each visa rejection rate with a harp note and representing shifts in income levels through bass changes, the project creates a visceral connection to the data. The harp, with its delicate and evocative sound, was chosen to reflect the fragility and significance of each visa application. The resulting soundscape mirrors the tension between opportunity and rejection, allowing audiences to feel the disparity rather than just see it.

Data Sonification bridges the gap between raw numbers and human experience, transforming statistics into stories. It enables us to hear the stark contrasts in rejection rates as melodies of inequality, emphasising the lived realities behind the data.

A Delicate Harmony of Data and Emotion
The harp’s fragile resonance echoes the duality of each application—a gateway to opportunity or a symbol of rejection. For countries like Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria, where rejection rates reach as high as 40–50%, these notes become a lament, underscoring the barriers to global mobility and opportunity.

Why This Matters
By transforming data into sound, this project brings a powerful new perspective to the conversation on visa inequality. It highlights disparities in global mobility, talent exchange, and international collaboration—issues that resonate deeply with the corporate world. For organisations, engaging with this piece signals a commitment to equity and inclusivity, aligning with broader goals for fair and empathetic global practices.

This technique not only invites us to engage with data differently but also fosters empathy and reflection. It prompts questions about the systemic barriers that impact diverse talent acquisition and potential markets, emphasising the importance of emotional resonance in data storytelling.

Play the video to explore the power of empathy-driven data storytelling and feel the stories behind the numbers.

Lufthansa Group – Voyages of Wonder

How I transformed frequent flyers data into unique data portraits.

“Voyages of Wonder” is a gift from Miles & More to their most loyal clients. Imagine if every flight you took could create a unique shape, telling a story of your travels. That was the case for passengers whose journeys have been reimagined into a series of bespoke data portraits.

The process of turning data into art starts with numbers. In this context, each dataset is like a personal diary, an unopened letter containing moments to remember.

“My artworks will be entering the homes of many people, and I want these pieces to feel relevant and significant to their new owners. Not less importantly, I aim for each piece to blend seamlessly with the surrounding environment.”

Digital render of one artwork during the test phase.

Someone once said that art is intentional making with unintentional outcomes. This holds true in every data-driven piece I do. While data visualisation tools can automate the process, I believe it is crucial to transcend the basic representation of data and connect with the viewer on an emotional level.

Transforming raw data into a meaningful story requires a deep understanding of the subject matter and a keen eye for detail. It is through this meticulous process that I am able to breathe life into the data and create something impactful and relatable.

Similarly, in “Voyages of Wonders" I sought to transform the mundane data of flight frequencies, destinations, and durations into abstract photographs. Each piece is a visual representation of its individual travel story.

“As I read the numbers, I translate these raw statistics into a language of forms and hierarchies.”

The Process

It all starts with numbers – a log of flights and destinations.

The transformation is a meticulous process, which I have precisely documented with sketches and video recordings. It is where intuition meets code and data visualisation conventions.

Each piece is customised based on individual passenger data, making no two pieces look the same.

Each line represents a flight route, with its size determined by the length of the route flown – the longer the line, the greater the distance from departure to arrival.

Then, I visualised frequency by adjusting the thickness of the lines – thicker lines represent routes that have been flown more frequently.

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The Generative Tool

The key factor that contributed to the success of this release was the custom generative tool created in collaboration with Francisco Estivallet.

View of the custom tool.

The custom-made tool interprets the data points to generate print-ready artwork quickly. This tool, called "VOW," not only streamlines the creative workflow but also ensures that each piece remains distinctive and true to the data it represents.

“When it comes to printing or installing my work, sustainability is a non-negotiable aspect. It was essential to strike the right balance between incorporating data and making each piece environmentally friendly for printing.”

Colour test featuring a rejected version of the visualisation. The more lines, the more routes were flown by a passenger.

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Final Piece(s) And Packaging

Each unique art piece from the "Voyages of Wonder" series is carefully packaged in a custom box, accompanied by a hand-signed note. The artwork itself is signed, printed, and mounted on Aluminium Dibond support. The attention to detail in the packaging ensures that each customer receives a truly special and personalised experience when they receive their artwork.

The custom box not only protects the artwork during transit but also adds an element of anticipation and excitement as the recipient opens it to reveal their one-of-a-kind piece.

Credits: Thanks to TRACK GmbH, Miles & More, and Lufthansa Group for this beautiful collaboration.

The Orb & Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour

In an era where art intersects so frequently with technology, this project signifies the fusion of both. Commissioned as a limited-edition fine art prints to celebrate the album Metallic Spheres in Colour – a collaboration between The Orb and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour – the spirit of the album was reimagined through data visualization using sonic data.

This project saw the transformation of recurring rituals – specifically the act of listening and taking notes about songs – into a visually stimulating narrative. The process began with analysing sonic data from the album's tracks. Each track's unique acoustic signature was transformed into circular, abstract visuals. This transmutation of sound to sight was both a technical and artistic challenge – countless hours were spent sketching, experimenting, and fine-tuning, using hand-drawn sketches and a system of purposefully developed digital tools. The result was a visualization that was both mathematically precise and emotionally evocative.

This work joins with a wider exploration of sound transmutation in Tiziana’s portfolio. Visualisation of emotions abound. Using sonic data, artworks capture moments of grief and passion, weaving audio recordings from life into detailed, circular abstract visuals.

View time-lapse videos on Tiziana Alocci's Instagram for artwork creation.

Discarded versions

Robertet Group – Visualising perfumes

Commissioned to visualise the complex essence of perfumes and aromas, Scented Connections culminated as a series of 30 unique data portraits for the Robertet Group. These artworks portrayed the network of ingredients used to create a scent, as provided by the artisans who so finely craft them.

Inspired by the intricate web of relationships and forms in nature, each portrait represented a unique 'olfactory fingerprint,' charting the journey of a fragrance from creation to use. The artwork aimed to capture the invisible threads that bind perfumers and their fragrances, transforming complex data into a visual composition of intersecting lines, nodes, and patterns. As observers look deeper into the artwork, they become immersed in a visual arrangement that reveals the interconnectedness of scent and human experience. Aroma notes cascade and converge, mirroring the harmonious collaborations and creative exchanges that breathe life into the final fragrant product.

This series aimed to celebrate the craftsmanship behind distinct perfumes, inviting viewers to contemplate their own place within the intricate composition of fragrance. The Robertet Group was essential to the success of the work, providing access to the dataset around the fragrance production, and allowing creative freedom on how this information might be interpreted and visualised.

Robertet Group – Digital Immersive Exhibition

The exhibition, Scented Connections, showcased 15 million data points as a means of illustrating the intangible qualities of perfumes. An interactive display featured 30 data portraits crafted for the Robertet Group in collaboration with French agency Artefact 3000. Each portrait was based on the most recent 100 fragrance formulas crafted by Robertet's artisans.

Working with Artefact 3000, the portraits were digitised and exhibited in a digital gallery, aiming to showcase the richness, complexity, and creativity of Robertet's artisans to a broader audience. The project intended to marry unlikely processes together – specifically, the fusion of ancient perfume-making processes with modern data visualization.

The Robertet Group, a leader in the perfumery industry, had a dual objective to honour its artisans and embrace the power of digital transformation. The project’s challenge was to demonstrate how modern data could enhance a craft rooted in a longstanding tradition of hand-borne instinct. By creating unique portraits for each perfumer, the exhibition sought to make the invisible art of perfume creation visible. In short, Tiziana used numbers to paint a picture of scent.

Scented Connections, was presented as an immersive experience at the VivaTech conference in Paris and it has been named a Lovie Awards Winner for People’s Lovie in Best Design, and Silver in Best Design (Websites & Mobile Sites).

Team Credit

Client: Robertet Group
Agency: Studio Artefact 3000
Artist: Tiziana Alocci

Tiziana Alocci with the Robertet Group and Artefact 3000 teams in Paris.

Data-driven album cover series 2019-23

Beginning in 2019, this project saw the creation of a series of album covers for the Berlin-based record label Sum Over Histories. Each cover artwork began with a habitual listening phase – playing artists’ songs alongside daily activities. The most resonant track was selected and visualised using a central circle motif, inspired by architectural elements and celestial phenomena. 

Each cover artwork was started with a list of songs by one artist. The process began with habitual listening, and playing the songs during daily activities like working, resting, and running. The most resonant track was then chosen as the album's ambassador. The next step was visualization, consistently featuring the circle as a central motif. The radial formation for each cover was inspired by architectural elements – such as stained glass, windows and domes – and celestial phenomena – like planets and galaxies. These visual prompts shaped the abstraction of the selected song’s waveform. The sound's anatomy, pre-visualised within a frequency graph, became optically tangible as a circular form.

In the final phase, the existing frequency marks were manipulated to reflect the emotional and intuitive vibrations evoked by the song. This converted the static waveform into fluid, sense-driven patterns. The visual markers pointed to sensations derived from the song, varying between spiky or sharp, blurred or wavy. Some emulated characteristics of flowers or jellyfish, reflecting the initial experience of consuming the song elementally.

Saint Is, Something in Common EP, 2019

Invoker, RA EP, 2020

Saint Is, Before We Get Old EP, 2020

Various artists, Path Integral IV, 2020

Imperieux, Modus Operandi, 2021

Flageolet, Tension EP, 2021

Ivory, Let the Mistery Be EP, 2021

Aldebaran, Severe EP, 2021

Skatman, Trial and Error EP, 2021

Ross From Friends, Thesho, 2022

Boys Be KKo, Lop Nor, 2022

‘Necessity’ – Visualising soundscapes

‘Necessity’ was born out of a legacy of self-exploratory work. It draws influence from the technical rigour of information design and data visualisation yet expands into an oeuvre that sees commonality with Conceptual Art, Process Art, and a movement that concerns itself with the quantified self. It embodies a continuity of themes that have been both implicitly and explicitly interrogated over many years of artistic production.

The idea for the series began through conversations around the transference of sound data into visuality. In earlier works, raw sound material takes the form of music recorded by external artists, in Necessity, the raw sound data becomes oral landscapes of the self. As such, the series is an extended visualisation of the unification between sound and two-dimensional form, only working with sonic matter that consistently begins and ends with the artist – at times including one other person, or ambient sounds within the environment. Raw sound material might have included breathing sounds recorded over a night’s sleep, the sounds of a walk across a landscape, or the undulating breaths of shared intimacy.

The resulting series includes eight large-scale fine art prints belonging to a limited edition, each individually signed and numbered. Every piece in the series is available in two colour schemes: a light and a dark version. Two pieces from the series have been acquired by C3 Residency in Mexico City and are now part of its permanent collection. Others are on display at the Shoreditch Arts Club in London and at Einraum in Berlin.

‘Victoria (night)’ and ‘Victoria (dawn)’ have been acquired by C3 Residency in Mexico City and are now part of its permanent collection.

Victoria

Data visualisation of 2:45 minutes of birdsong recorded in Victoria Park, London. Victoria visualises a walk in London’s Victoria Park, taken on a sunny day amidst the sound of human activity, birdsong and other sounds becoming part of the white noise characteristic of an outdoor stroll. This soundscape converted into the pilot piece for the Necessity Collection, its formal characteristics referencing the section of a tree and its concentric circles.

Morpheús

Data visualisation of 6 hours, 46 minutes from one night’s sleep. A few years ago, when Tiziana began struggling with insomnia, she decided to record ambient noises during sleep to determine if external sounds were causing her restless nights. In this pursuit, Morpheus chronicled the sounds and rhythms of breath throughout one night's sleep, using these recordings as a sample to understand habitual sleeping patterns. This investigation into the patterns of a restless sleeper revealed a broken circle representing broken sleep, questioning whether external noises trigger moments of waking or if it is merely the provocation of the unconscious mind. This artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Einraum Berlin.

The Photograph We Never Took

Data visualisation of two voices. This work follows Tiziana’s father's death in 2019 and contemplates their relationship and the loss of her favourite photograph. Retracing this lost photograph prompted her to enlist voice recordings to recreate the image of the bond between them. The sound forms of the two voices join together as two uniting circles, replacing the missing photograph. This artwork has been featured in: Nightingale Magazine issue 2, Page Magazine, Design Matters Copenhagen, Beyond Tellerand Berlin, and part of the group show “Exploring Grief And Loss”, Willesden Gallery London (UK).

Stay There

Data visualisation of 8:27 minutes recording of intimate moments. Capturing the swaying breath of a couple enraptured by their intimacy, Stay There is the only work within the Necessity Collection that includes two identical circles. Representing the proximity of two lovers, the rings do not signify two separate waveforms but embody the physicality of two bodies and sets of breathing. Blurred frequencies emblematise their intertwining, sensual motion, heightened by the deep red colour that stains the canvas with inferred passion. The artwork is currently on display and available for sale (framed) at Einraum Berlin and at Shoreditch Arts Club in London.

Morpheús – Visualising sleep data

In October 2021, a period of insomnia led to the creation of Morpheus, a visual representation of sound waves that represented the patterns of disrupted sleep. Part of the Necessity Collection, it symbolises a reclaiming control through the recording and visualising of data – giving shape to patterns in sleep behaviour that cannot be controlled. Using an audio recording device, ambient noises and body movements were captured throughout the night. After weeks of data collection, patterns emerged, such as evidence of regular early morning bus noises from the street below disrupting sleep.

The noise, though not loud enough to fully awaken, was sufficient to interrupt sleep. This ultimately led to the creation of Morpheus, a fusion of art and science that visualised the recorded sound data. Each brushstroke and curve on the canvas represented sound waves moving through time, with lines showing the amplitude of sonic vibrations. A broken circle in the artwork symbolises the disrupted sleep, peaking in the early morning.

The process for Morpheus involved recording ambient noises every night for two months. This signifies Tiziana’s wider practice, which involves consistently collecting data through various mediums like writing and sound recording, often over extended periods. This has resulted in a large archive, an analogue record of moments from life. This data intricately intertwines with personal metrics, including physical aspects such as breathing patterns and social dimensions like quantifiable interactions.

Morpheús (night), 2022, 101.6 cm x 101.6 cm, Giclée print archival inks. Limited edition of 10, numbered and signed.

Visualising the voices of Ukrainian refugees

The artwork, Liberty Leading the People, was showcased at L’Officina Arte Contemporanea during the premiere of the documentary Tales from the Border. The work’s objective was to amplify the voices of Ukrainian refugees' and was created in 2022 with Capslock Magazine. Liberty Leading the People merged refugees’ stories into a poignant composition – a totem that symbolised freedom and justice amid Europe's conflicts.

Three Ukrainian women were interviewed by Capslock Magazine, capturing their personal stories, ongoing fears, and hopes for the future ahead. Tiziana then visually translated their stories into concentric rings – each representing one distinct voice. Using sonic data, the voices were merged, resonating as a unified cry for freedom, justice, and peace. Throughout the documentary screening, Liberty Leading the People guided viewers through a poignant exploration of border life in Ukraine, providing a visual narrative of resilience and humanity amidst turmoil.

The artwork’s title, Liberty Leading the People, pays homage to Eugène Delacroix's iconic painting, known for its symbolic depiction of liberty and democracy, transcended from its origins to become a universal symbol of liberation. Limited edition prints of the work are available for purchase through Tiziana’s online shop, with all proceeds dedicated to World Central Kitchen – a charitable organisation that responds to humanitarian, climate, and community crises by providing meals worldwide.

Tiziana Alocci, Liberty Leading The People, 2022.

Tiziana Alocci, Liberty Leading The People, Voice one, 2022.

Tiziana Alocci, Liberty Leading The People, Voice two, 2022.

Tiziana Alocci, Liberty Leading The People, Voice three, 2022.