presentation
Extinction Rebellion
Time: February 3 – February 10
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
This week’s focus was on the meeting with the collaborators. On Monday we gathered really early and polished our presentation for the meeting later that day. We divided the presentation into three main parts (art, performance and media), so that each group could present their ideas. The feedback that we received was quite positive, and it also helped us realize where we need to contextualize our ideas more, which ideas are better, what is doable and what we should be on the lookout for.
The presentation started with the performance group and their recordings from the protest. Extinction Rebellion applauded them for treating the protest almost like an experiment by going out and testing different methods, props and locations. They made comments on how their performance could be enhanced by adding more context, improving execution and involving more people. They also suggested reconsidering the use of masks, as XR wants to be transparent in their actions.
The Funeral.
The next comment focused on the use of cartoon animals. They made an interesting observation about Disney’s escapist presentation of poetic animal kingdoms, where many of the starring characters belong to species facing extinction. It also raises the question of whether Disney is being ignorant and immoral. They felt that this idea is strong and should be explored further as it stirs up people’s emotions.
The disappearance of cartoon characters.
The fake news was also well received. Both Extinction Rebellion representatives liked the idea of using humour as a way of interacting with people. They were also keen on our idea of talking to people outside and not limiting ourselves only to the studio. There was also a suggestion that it would be more impactful if Tonicha were more serious when presenting the news.
Braking News.
Regarding the art group’s ideas, they liked the idea of a reset button and the possibility of encouraging an interesting thought process. They also liked the transformation of art through time, but they were concerned about acquiring the right permissions and about the placement of our artefacts in the public space, since they could be removed, stolen or ruined.
Later our art group decided to combine our ideas and create only one installation. Our final version was a big reset button, placed in front of the LCC as it would probably be easier to obtain the permission. The button would change during the night and would attract attention by its size. Near the button we would place a QR code that would, upon scanning, provide a more accurate description of the idea. We would also place smaller reset buttons all over London, creating a game through an app, where people would follow the buttons around London to the final big button in front of the LCC.
