This work imagines a parallel reality in which society boldly confronts the pervasive decline of the environment and acknowledges technology's role in creating rampant consumerism and pollution. Society recognizes that their civil liberties are eroding and surveillance technologies are being used to police thoughts and actions.
In this parallel reality, citizens choose resistance, rejecting passivity. They harness the materials around them to actively protect themselves from further harm caused by selfish and short-sighted governmental and corporate powermongers. They resist the acceptance of a polluted world and polluted bodies. They resist the capture and collection of their biometric and cellular data (to what unknown end?). They salvage electronic components made with rare earth minerals destined to pollute. They harness these recycled technologies into their clothing as shields from the apacolypses.
Our parallel reality denizens recognize BIG TECH culture is obsessed with growth, metrics, trending, and endless expansion. These are distorted values that lead to the destruction of people and planet. BIG TECH IS THE DISEASE PRETENDING TO BE THE CURE. They realize. They protest. They take tech back.
Boot 2Sense Boots
in collaboration with artist Ruth Neubauer (@ruth.world)
recycled footware and electronics
The Sense Boots feature air and light-quality sensors. They monitor the wearer's environment and act as an alarm when the environment becomes hostile.
Boot 1 senses volatile organic compounds that indicate the air quality has become harmful. When triggered, it the boot's motor swings a blade into a slime pouch as a signal that the wearer is in danger. Boot 2's light-quality sensor measures the amount of particulate matter in the air. When harmful amounts of particulates are measured, the boot's onboard theremin plays high-pitched tones signaling danger to the wearer.
recycled packaging materials
Citizens are arming themselves against rapidly advancing facial recognition technologies, but their phones are an even more powerful tool for tracking. The Signal Block Bag is designed to allow its wearer to become digitally invisible. Metallic sheeting lines the bag, halting the ability of a phone to send or receive tracking data via commercial apps that trade the data for profit.
The Master Cooler
recycled components from a PC graveyard
The world is getting hotter and more polluted. Wildfires are an ever-present threat. The handheld Master Cooler circuit allows the wearer to push a button, engaging the recycled Personal Computer fan to remove heavy air particulates, or in-reverse, to blow cool air on the wearer.
We woke up. Every day. We heard predictions about the bad things that will happen in the future. How bad it will get. Meanwhile, it got bad.
We're like that story about the frog placed in a pot of warm water. Someone turns the temperature up. The water slowly gets hotter, but the frog doesn't feel the temperature increasing, because it's so subtle.Eventually, he boils.
The story isn't really about the frog. It's about the person that turned the temperature up. What an asshole! Hey, have you noticed that it's gotten warmer?
They said technology was supposed to save us, remember. L0l. They actually said that.
Big Technology was a just a new form of the sickness, designed to look like the cure.
Technology didn't change anything. It allowed all the same things to happen - racism, injustice, economic oppression, bias, war, sexism, environmental and animal abuse - but at a bigger SCALE. More more more. More destruction. More precious minerals mined by precious lives for TECHNOLOGY, SO IT'S OK!
More surveillance. More information. Less knowledge. Of Ourselves. Of what nourishes us. Of what we're doing to our home, to our environments, to animals. Of what it means to be human, generous, kind, wild, away.
So here we are.
This is this it. It happened so gradually. We're the frogs in the story. Who turned the temperature up?
