ideas
Extinction Rebellion
Time: January 20 – January 27
Brief: Engage a diverse audience on the theme of species loss.
Art group: Riezan, Kai, Carol
XR group: Riezan, Jason, Kai, Pat, Ana, Jiayi, Jae, Tonicha, Amber, Sanjana, Carol
In this week we continued our research into different performance artists and protesters, which helped us realize our limitations as well as what has already been done. We also examined the Extinction Rebellion photos and made a social media photo analysis to better understand their way of working and collecting the material for the web platforms.
Photo analysis.
We started collecting suggestions and dividing them into sections, which enabled us to work in smaller groups focusing on different ideas. After discussing our ideas, for example domino effect performance or using loud speakers in urban areas early in the morning forcing people to acknowledge the effects of noise pollution on animals such as birds, we made a decision to form three groups: art group (Maša, Riezan, Kai, Carol), performance group (Sanjana, Amber, Jiayi, Ana) and media group (Tonicha, Jason, Pat, Jae).
The art group focused on three main ideas. First, I had an idea of creating big paintings of animals that would have skeletons of those animals drawn over them with luminous paint that is not visible during the day but glows in the dark. This would represent how animals will soon go extinct without us even realizing. The second idea was a statue of an animal or human (as we will go extinct as well if we do not act now) made out of papier-mâché and colour, which would be displayed at parks and slowly reveal the skeleton beneath after the rain. Finally, we would also design interactive posters such as origami birds covering the poster and as people take them down, it would reveal an image of what the world without birds would look like.
Idea simulation.
The performance group considered different ideas, such as performing a funeral for animals, while the media group focused on creating a humorous forecast of what the world will look like in the future with more animals going extinct and with increasing pollution.
References
Boyd, A., & Mitchell, D. O. (2013). Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox For Revolution. New York: Or Books.
Görkem, Ş. (2015). The only thing not known how to be dealt with: Political humor as a weapon during Gezi Park Protests. HUMOR, 28(4).
Markussen, T. (2013). The Disruptive Aesthetics of Design Activism: Enacting Design Between Art and Politics. Design Issues, 29(1), pp.38-50.
Rogers, D. (2015). Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Non-Violent Techniques to Galvanise Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World. New Zealand International Review, 40(6), 31.
