Udruga za razvoj audio-vizualne umjetnosti
15/09 2020
In this online workshop participants developed speculative works around notions of otherness. Exploring attributes that configure other possible bodies, in other speculative realities and other branches of history that result from their fictional scenarios.
In the second stage participants take these fictional scenarios and through found materials and other life forms, they create face augmentations, illustrating their concepts and offering an alternative visual imaginary to what other versions of themselves in these speculative scenarios could look like. These speculative faces were then used as a starting point to develop digital face filters. Using the visual language of the selfie to convey these speculations and sharing them with their extended social bodies in social media.
Workshop was led by Luis Rodil-Fernández with the participation of Valentina Butumović, Luna Fofonjka, Ivana Šilić, Mirna Oštarić Kerr, Josip Knežević, Ema Čimbur, Tea Zbašnik and Izabela Plavšić as well as guests from the Design, Art & Technology department of ArtEZ University of the Arts: Sjoerd Mol (NL), Katrijn Westland (NL) and Deborah Mora (IT). This workshop was co-organized by Marijeta Bradić and Luis Rodil-Fernández and produced by Udruga Metamedij at the Media Mediterranea festival 2020, in collaboration with Oleg Šuran and the Department of Design of Visual Communication (Arts Academy in Split, University of Split). The workshop was co-moderated by Ivana Vojnić Vratarić and Marijeta Bradić.
The exhibition resulted with an analogue (photography) and digital (animations) face filters which were presented in the Living room in Community Center Rojc, on 15th of August 2020 trough Media Mediterranea festival.
Valentina Butumović: De-Composing
Plastic and microbes are rapidly changing and affecting the biosphere; carbon and cells are being dumped out of melting glaciers, composting, ecosystems are being destroyed, and the enviroment is becoming increasingly more toxic; life on Earth is slowly being overtaken by bacteria and human produced, non-biodegradable waste. Therefore, decomposing and plastic waste represent two extremes of the spectrum – preservation and decomposition. How to preserve any species in a rapidly decomposing biosphere?As human and animal bodies are queering under the effect of the increasingly toxic enviroments, reproduction is no longer a possible strategy for prolonging/preserving the species. In a way, all life is slowly becoming more bacterial.
The idea is to make human bodies more plastic and porous/compost like; to allow symbiotic interaction with non-humans that would modify the body, exploring the potential of intimacy with different ways of being. Porous, plastic bodies are more opened to the enviroment, creating decomposing cyborgs — through decomposition, bodies become more sentient in their relationship with bacteria, plants and animals. The mask produced is a gesture comprised of organic materials and wax (natural equivalent of plastic), where organic matter is absorbed and integrated in wax, thus representing preservation and decomposition at the same time – even though organic matter is rotting and propagating microbial life, wax will ultimately remain unchanged, hosting the decomposition processes and integrating its results while retaining its form.
A long time ago an asteroid fell on the Earth and erased majority of life allowing humans to evolve. But if it fell 30 seconds later it would have fallen in the ocean and the story would be completely different. What if we lived in the world where the asteroid was 30 seconds late?
We can imagine the asteroid falling in the ocean causing tsunamis which flooded most of the land and forcing species to adapt to a new way of living underwater. Because of that the intelligent life developed in the oceans. It caused the evolution of humanoid beings that live in the water but because they are not on the top of the food chain they have to find places to hide from predatory species. They live in the symbiosis with other beings like seashells that help them hide using biomimicry. Beacause of the constant need of hiding they have not lost their connection to the nature.
Would that be better than our reality?
The world around us is rapidly evolving. We are facing new challenges and problems to which the human body has not managed to adapt yet. Currently, our problem is air polluted by a virus that we have temporarily tried solving by wearing masks. What if we reduced the nose from the head and introduced a new respiratory system with pre-installed filters that purify the air? What if we were learning more from the nature rather than expecting technology to save us from our problems? One could certainly learn how to adapt to this environment from all the extreme habitats inhabited by various plants and animal species. Plant called Tamarisk, which I used in my experiment, adapted to the very cruel environment in which there is no rain, there are strong winds and a lot of salt in the air. This plant inspired me that all you got to do to survive is to adapt, so I put it on my nose, brows and mouth to represent the change we all need to breathe without getting infected.
Josip Knežević: Wired/wireless
What if humans used wires and plugs in connecting their bodies internal infrastructure of nervous and cardio-vascular systems with the other. Connecting their bodies for exchange of information and energy between them and their technology, other humans or other sentient life. Through the plugs and connecting tissues of the body and the cables you could intervene into the body’s chemical composition and exchange life support and information like an umbilical cord of sorts. The cables would represent a physical manifestation of connection.
What if our body is a music box?
We know our vocal cords make sound, but what if we could record the way our blood circulates, our bones move and our muscles contract, our intestines working and eyes blinking… what if? What if this is a new way of communicating? We are walking around with masks because of earth pollution, because of the virus and we can’t see each other’s mouth so communication is already different. What if we had a music box attached to our body and we could express what we feel with the sounds of the inside of our bodies. When we are angry our sound / body music would’t be so pleasant, if we are calm it will be relaxing. What if this could help people who are less comfortable speaking in public? What if with our body music could connect us more? When the whole world can speak one language, the language of the inside of our bodies would that be easier to understand? What if we then forget or refuse to talk as we are used to now? What kind of change would it bring to communication between living organisms?
All of us, are currently together in this pandemic. We must wear a mask, that some people already got used to. This mask conceals half of our face. We are, in a way, hiding our sense of smell and sense of taste. We are told not to touch our mouth and nose; we are told that touching them is a problem. What happens when the mask is finally able to come off? Can we transform this challenge with our nose and mouth and turn it around to something that enhances us? Our senses have been hidden this long and, in this scenario, I try to make them more externally visible than ever.
The idea is to bring the sense receptors that are usually hidden, to the surface. The shape of our taste buds in our gustatory sense and the nerve terminations in our olfactory organs serve as inspiration for the choice of materials in my filter. So instead of our nose and our mouth we would have augmentations of these receptors. Dried grapes relate to taste buds and pine branch to the structure of the olfactory nerves.
Tea Zbašnik: What if we have no planet
Another World. Another Planet. Another Space. Another Universe.
Once upon a time, there was a planet called Earth.
There were nature, animals and humans.
Disasters occurred exponentially and everything was gone in a second as it was created.
And this was not the end, nor the beginning.
The species evolved adapting to the new living environment they exist as it
always did.
Each species body evolved so it can recognise what it needs and produce their own substance: a medicine to survive.
Producing by themself from themself, for exactly what they need.
Each body is its own mass production and knows the best what it need for
itself.
Another Universe. Another Space. Another Planet. Another Word.
What if there is no Air
What if there is no Water
What if there is no Soil
What if there is no Nature
What if there is no Habitat
4D 5D Alien Stand with Human Right, Freedom of Speech and Direct Democracy just like Switzerland
Now My Passion realise too slow & depressed. What if I create my own Fearless, Passion Based Universe. I uplift myself from Suffer. What if all People who are in long term/lifelong Suffer can instantly easily with endless easy elegant Tools to Create their own Universe = can choose to Transform into what they truely want to be. I needed Best Loving Energy be with Me. Transform to next higher Out of Box Dimension. Cleaner & Elegant. Ultra Clear see World in 4D 5D. 0 Bullshit.