We are a covetous bunch. CTWW is a running archive of our earthly wants.

Second only to a pair of wings, we want this Aerocene Explorer. The backpack kit includes a floating sculpture, a camera to document its flight and an assortment of environmental sensors. What makes this flying device so cool is that it’s completely eco-friendly – reliant simply on air, sun and wind to lift and direct its journey. Not only would it easily sate our photographic curiosity about birds-eye views of Vancouver, but it would mean we wouldn’t need to use an annoyingly buzzy drone to see what we want to see. (Granted, their flight might be an issue with the air traffic folks, but this column is about the free expression of desires and not the feasibility of those desires.)

Aerocene is a multi-disciplinary project that foregrounds the artistic and scientific exploration of environmental issues. In the wake of the Anthropocene, the project promotes common links between social, mental, and environmental ecologies. Inflated only by air, lifted only by the sun, carried only by the wind, towards a sustainable future.

So far, Explorers have captured natural and urban landscapes everywhere from a German sand quarry and Antarctica to the cityscapes of London, Istanbul and San Francisco. The following images are taken from the Aerocene website.