COLAB 2020 - Extinction (audio file)

 

On the 30th November, many arts students took part in the COLAB project. Our main task for the day was to reinvent a 2020 word to mean something different to fit into a 2040 perspective. We were briefed and then put into groups to listen to the audio clips with their corresponding words and discuss which words were our favourite. We also used process cards, which contained ideas, events and points of view that could influence our concepts. For example, we used ‘chat’ (commenting on and gossiping) when whittling down our initial 6 words to 3 words; as well as ‘draw’ to illustrate ‘squish’. Our winning word was ‘extinct’. Our group discussed what extinction could mean in years to come, and how it could evolve towards 2040. I found it difficult using the process cards as I felt we had not been given enough instruction nor given an example. Regardless we used our ‘push the future’ template sheets as a timeline to explore how this word would evolve. We were instructed to use red concept cards to help us reach an outcome but again, I found these difficult to use and understand. My model explains that ‘extinct’ can refer to extinction of human interaction post-coronavirus by 2025, progressing from individual isolation to national isolation and then isolation becoming a culture. With virtual crowds and VR already existing- this is a possibility for the future. Another route discussed was cancel culture. Making a person ‘extinct’ over social media; a new type of exclusion.

The creation of media from this outcome was tricky due to everyone being online, and only being given a loose briefing. I felt I had to do the work myself, as It was impossible for all of us to work on the same thing at once, which also left others doing nothing for the session except finding content (sound or video).