Analysing Wikidata For Artistic Creation

Tabone, Enrique

Abstract

As an open database, Wikidata can be used freely for artistic exploration. It is not always easy to extract useful knowledge from the structured data held in Wikidata. SPARQL query language enables such extraction, to extract information and visualise data. Data visualization tools are largely used to generate charts, trees, and maps. There are also possibilities for artistic creation. This is the basis for data art.

My dataset for this project comes from Heritage Malta’s collection of prehistoric female figurines. These are held at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta and the Ġgantija Archaeological Park in Gozo. Through Wikidata I have processed the raw data on this collection and applied FAIR data principles to it. This enabled the analyses of the visual descriptive data to ensure opportunities for open interpretations, including for feminist points of view that have frequently been disregarded, overlooked, or completely excluded. In 2020 a network of women involved in data science coalesced around the idea of data feminism. Their aim is to lead a cultural movement to promote equitable and gender-sensitive data systems for more inclusive decision making. This is also considered in the context of this project.

Complementing the visualisation of the dataset, I have also employed a technique of data sonification. This method involves the representation of aspects of the dataset in sound. Along with the written thesis, which provides a literature review for context, as well as a detailed account of my methodology, I have created a series of art objects to analyse the possibilities of working with this type of data in an artistic context. The practical work provides a method for researching new insights into the dataset, which otherwise remains a flat document containing basic information about very ancient objects that have frequently been overlooked for reasons that are also discussed in this thesis. Ultimately, this research project proposes ways to make otherwise forgotten archaeological museum objects more noticeable through artistic interpretation.

Citation

Tabone, E. (2023). Analysing Wikidata For Artistic Creation. (Thesis). The University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 8, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 30, 2023
• Award Date: Sep 29, 2023