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Trig Point
Get PDFA group exhibition curated by Finlay Taylor located in the Millimeter02 frame in the Kingsgate Project Space, London . The frame acted as a meeting point for the exhibiting artists, a triangulation of possibilities for individuals located in different parts of the world. The artists wrote to each other in the form of a letter as a means of conveying their ideas
Analysis everywhere. On the research collective CERFI (Centre d'Études de Recherche et de Formation Institutionnelle)
Get PDFOur presentation will focus on the research collective CERFI (Centre d'Études de Recherche et de Formation Institutionnelle), founded in 1967. Emerging from the militant student movements that sprang from the struggles for Algerian independence in France and inspired by the experience of institutional psychotherapy at the Clinique La Borde, CERFI set out to explore forms of political militancy that would address capitalism's co-optation of the unconscious. We will present a series of projects in which CERFI was involved, ranging from the programming of childcare and educational equipment, to its participation in urban planning processes, to its research, modes of internal organisation and publication activities, to show how the group explored analytical principles beyond the clinical setting. In particular, we will discuss the ways in which CERFI transformed every situation into an analytical possibility, starting with every bureaucratic and organisational procedure in a given institution, or the exploration of collective programming as a permanent analytical process, or even the very basic idea of holding weekly meetings without an agenda as an analytical rhythm and as a void that might be filled. We will suggest that by bringing analysis into militancy, CERFI was in fact committing itself to an idea of analytical militancy, anywhere, everywhere, and ultimately by other means
Beyond the sweet spot: Sound, space and emotion
No full textThe collaboration between artists Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard and acoustic and sound designer Raj Patel since 2005 has traversed various mediums, including installations, live art, moving images, and radio projects, with spatial audio being a consistent element. Through discussions on their evolving relationship and the essence of collaboration, sound emerges as a central anchor. The dialogue references key projects such as Silent Sound (2006, 2007, 2010, live art, installation), The Death of Bunny Munro (2009, audiobook), Soon (2011, outdoor installation), and Bish Bosch: Ambisymphonic (2013, ambisonic installation). This text presents a conversation between Raj Patel, Iain Forsyth, and Jane Pollard, highlighting the interplay between their diverse backgrounds and shared interests, and how their collaborative efforts have influenced their individual practices. Compiled from online, face-to-face discussions, and written reflections, this ongoing exchange reflects the iterative nature of their partnership, interspersed with factual details on select projects
Anonymised interview transcripts
Get PDFAnonymised interview transcripts for project: Consumer Experience Digital Tools for Dematerialisation for the Circular Econom
Dignitas in the Metaverse
No full textIn response to increasing calls to address “human dignity” in the Metaverse, the Royal College of Art’s MA Fashion Programme utilised Epic’s “Metahuman Creator” software to create multiple digital identities. Human dignity has its etymological root in the Latin ‘dignitas’, and is translated as worth. For the purpose of this study, its meaning is derived from the Charter of the United Nations (1945) which defines the fundamental rights of the humacy3n person, their equality, dignity and worth. Epic’s “Metahuman Creator” is a new type of digital human configurator, based on pre-existing scans of real people where only physically plausible adjustments can be made. As it has a vast range of facial features and skin tones the user can design a variety of digital characters. However, its tools representing trans identities and invisible disabilities have limitations. Here we show the experience of two users, one with a hearing disability and the other undergoing gender-affirming therapy. We found that tools for representing their identity fell short of expressing their inherent human dignity. The foundations of the Metaverse are therefore at risk of replicating inaccessibility and excluding persons with disabilities and gender differences. We anticipate our paper to be the starting point for wider participatory research that involves all user groups in the design of platforms, tools and systems. We foresee the findings of our paper fulfilling the UN Charter on Human rights in the digital space through the shaping of policies and advancing existing standards (ISO)
Spectral transmissions research unit - Above us the waves
No full text"You wont never fynd no beginning its long gone and far pas." 'If we look through the aperture which we have Jess opened up onto the absolute, what we see there is a rather menacing power, something insensible, and capable of destroying both things and worlds, of bringing forth monstrous absurdities, of realizing every dream, but also every nightmare, of engendering random and frenetic transformations, or conversely, of producing a universe that remains motionless down to its ultimate recesses, like a cloud bearing the fiercest storms, then the eeriest bright spells, if only for an interval of disquieting calm." "To push anything back into the past is equivalent to reducing it to its simplest elements. Traced as far as possible in the direction of their origins, the last fibres of the human aggregate are lost to view and are merged in our eyes with the very stuff of the universe
What do we mean: the language of design for sustainable practices
Get PDFDesign research has metamorphosed exponentially over ten years, with discipline titles becoming muted and complex. Discipline terminology, previously dictated outputs, for example product design included artefact outputs, but now includes strategic direction, highlighting communications importance. This change serves as a catalyst for enquiry, not only in what design is, but shifting the speculative realm of what it can do, cultivate or foster. This position paper underscores the importance of language in propelling Ecological Citizenship and shaping sustainable futures diverging from conventional paths. Acknowledging the impact of climate change on all life forms, the article recognizes design's dual role: as both a solution and a challenge in confronting climate-related issues (Godelnik, R. 2021). The distinction between mere participation and empowering individuals to have agency emerges as pivotal in this context. This however is reliant on the systems, interventions and agency those individuals are empowered with. Emphasising language's significance in post-participatory activities, the article addresses how language has been underexplored within "design for sustainable practices" compared to its prevalence in "design for inclusion" (Nuñez, 2013; Reed and Monk, 2006). It presents an iterative glossary (not as an authoritative guide) but the groundwork for the burgeoning field of post-participation. Our agenda aims to empower citizens, to actively shape environments within a contemporary design framework. The exploration underscores language as a crucial component in design influencing perceptions and power dynamics in co-design processes (Sanders, et al., 2008). The article advocates for language fostering collaboration, aligning with contemporary notions where precision in language cultivates trust and propagates cultural understanding. Exploring the significant impact of language within design, emphasises its pivotal role in shaping perceptions, power dynamics, and socio-cultural intricacies. The suggested glossary, curated by team members of The Ecological Citizens project, offers a preliminary glimpse into terms commonly employed in discussions about design for sustainable practices. These terms, including for example 'gatekeeper' and 'preferable futures,' prompt the need to comprehend their nuanced meanings, potential cross-disciplinary misunderstanding and variations in interpretation. Understanding how these terms are used and perceived differently becomes essential in fostering effective communication and shared understanding within the discourse. Moreover, it stresses the need for sensitivity to linguistic disparities across cultures, emphasising language's pivotal role in post-participatory design, empowering communities, fostering inclusivity, and driving responsible transformations. Ultimately, the study advocates for an inclusive design approach that harnesses language to empower communities and individuals while driving responsible transformations in the face of challenges like the climate crisis, climate justice, and ecocide. The collective perspective shaped by evolving language and terminology post-participation aims to foster collaborative and inclusive approaches crucial for sustainable transitions without marginalising or undermining societies or cultures. The People & Planet Consumer Insights report (Ingka Group, 2023) states one of the highest priorities is to “continue to engage the many people on people and planet topics – rationally and emotionally”. What is more rational or emotional than language and comprehension. This encompasses distant futures, where we are all included, have agency and unite to achieve common aims
Listening to things and spaces: Sound archives for design historians
No full textSound archives, beyond those of oral histories, have great potential to enrich design history discourse on key themes, invite new methodological approaches, and help expand the field’s subject breadth. Sound is, after all, a pervasive part of the designed world. It is intertwined with materiality, and is an important factor in how many users interact in and with spaces and artefacts. Yet the sonic qualities of designed objects, spaces and systems are often ‘unheard’ in design history literature and in conventional archives. This article outlines the potential of sound-focused research in design history through a discussion of several sound archives that reflect design history subject matter and concerns. The archives covered focus on the sounds of artefacts and spaces, which have seen less use in design history than those of oral histories. The sound-focused sources introduced here speak to design historical discourses on materiality, use, subjectivity, the everyday, environmental ecologies and historical contingency. I argue, finally, that using sonic evidence invites the use of methodologies for listening, and contributes to a rethinking of epistemological hierarchies in design history research
Sickness in cyberspace: Sensual encounters in digital media towards a radically embodied future
Get PDFThis thesis accentuates the potential of sensuality in digital media. Drawing from the experience of adopting a more accessible digital practice after becoming sick, I highlight the enabling aspects of digital making and its subsequent encounters. My sick perspective gives me the heightened embodied knowledge of feeling the presence of my embodiment in cyberspace through symptoms, and I produce digital expressions of this once-invisible stance of being in two places at once. My software gives me an accessible mode of expression, and I argue that this understanding of embodiment in cyberspace theorises a more caring and abundant way of living with digital media. Finding ways to live symbiotically as a body with digital media counters the logic of competition enforced within a neoliberal society, a problem that foregrounds this research. Without this incessant need for competition and qualitative comparison, the sick and disabled can thrive without being othered, and my digital renders can resonate with others beyond being dismissed as a representational copy of this world. I ask, how can I emphasise the sensuousness of cyber-embodiment while resisting making a representation that occludes the corporeal body? Can a sick/disabled perspective that embraces the difference and pleasure of non-normative embodiments enhance a new materialist understanding of cyberspace, and how does this differ from virtual disembodied emancipation or neoliberal versions of disabled liberation? What production techniques have the potential to instigate affective encounters, and how might this computationally enabled fictioning contribute to the sociopolitics of cyberspace? To carry out this project, I bring together new materialism, cyberfeminism and crip/disability theory. I look to thinkers such as Rosi Braidotti, Karen Barad, Simon O’Sullivan, Laboria Cuboniks (Xenofeminism), and Alison Kafer. I place an emphasis on matter and how it continuously moves and changes, giving me a generative understanding of how cyberspace operates with corporeal life, asserting that space and our relation to distance can change and subvert Euclidean geometry, especially facilitated by digital media. In practice, I evidence the enabling aspect of finding an essential mode of expression through digital media as a means of “travel” as a sick person. I make a digital hand that assists me in navigating this digital world. With the digital hand, I draw out methods for accentuating the materiality and affects of digital media beyond representation through a focus on variances in the intensities of sensation. Using 3-D rendering, video editing, and music production software, I embrace the textures, vibrancy, rhythms, viscosities and flows of being a body. I express my embodiment as a sick person and prove the vital knowledge a sick body can bring, all while giving insight into how bodies can live with each other in cyberspace and beyond it