Speculative Design
Role: Creative, Writer, Producer & Film-maker
Responsibilities:
Concept
Editing
Directing
Scriptwriting
Project Management
Stimulating imaginative and critical thought about how things are, how they could be, and how we want them to be.
Each project is born out of an emotional connection with the subject matter, and then extrapolated into speculative scenarios through research methods.
My speculative design projects have been exhibited in exhibitions and film festivals, including in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul.
The Microbial Verdict: You Live Until You Die
This project presents a speculative scenario where synthetic biology allows all citizens to live until they die. Therefore people live only for as long as they remain ‘themselves’.
The Premise
The introduction of UK-wide policy means that each citizen has until their 65th birthday to define the 10 characteristics that make them ‘them’.
A protein pill is then synthetically engineered to track the activity in the brain that correlates to those characteristics.
When the protein recognises that the relevant brain activity has fallen below the specified level for the specified amount of time, the protein releases a toxin, and the person dies a quick and painless death.
The Scenario
The scenario, with its possible motivations and consequences, is presented through film and objects. These include:
Footage of the ceremony where a citizen swallows her engineered protein
The Microbial Verdict Handbook, which citizens use to define their key characteristics
The official pamphlet outlining the benefits to the economy of this new policy in terms of reduced pension, NHS and housing costs.
Actors in the exhibition space invite the public to undergo a series of exercises and questions to ascertain the characteristics which make them ‘them’.
The Workshops
Workshops — in partnership with AgeUK East London — took place during the exhibition. These workshops were aimed at people over the age of 65, and issues relating to the project were discussed and debated.
Thanks
Commissioned by Arebyte Gallery
Curated by Nimrod Vardi
Funded by Arts Council England & The Legacy List
Interviews Aesthetica Magazine, Traction Magazine, CLOT magazine and Digicult about the project.
Winner of the Grand Prix Award at Transmission International Art Festival.
The Film
The Microbial Verdict: You Live Until You Die
The Exhibtion
Smile, The Fiction Has Already Begun
This project questions why we value happiness so much more than other emotions.
The Premise
The pursuit of happiness is accepted as a good thing almost without question.
Happiness, however, is no longer just the desire of the individual — governments and legislative bodies are getting in on the act. The 2011 UN Resolution 65/309 encouraged all member states to measure happiness, and happiness is often positioned as a better measure of a nation’s success than GDP.
When our emotions become an indicator of government ’success’, where might this attempted control over our emotions end? And at what price?
The Scenario
In order to climb up the Happiness rankings from the 2014 position of number 22, the UK Government targets one of its least happy cities, Blackburn, and implements a number of proposals to increase happiness in the city.
These proposals include:
Changing the name from Blackburn to Yellowburn — as black is the colour of insecurity and fear, whereas yellow is the colour of happy, sun and fun!
Introducing tax incentives for people who smile and skip while outdoors
Banning black clothing
Introducing a ‘wagging tail mechanisms’ for cats
A freephone ‘optimism helpline’
The Film
Smile, The Fiction Has Already Begun
The Exhibition
