For this visual research project, I wanted to explore two potential futures, what factors could lead to these futures as well as the outcome of them - "good future" (the right side up future images) and a "bad future" (the upside down future images).
I took photos using various photography techniques such as over exposer and holding up a glass to the camera lens in order to distort the subject. From there I used photoshop techniques to "over edit" the photos in order to achieve a fragmented look. For the "good" future I kept the colour palette to mostly greens with hints of warmer colours as well as using landscape images of plants and buildings. I wanted these images to show a natural world integrated within human technology, showing a future where we live in symbiosis with nature and technology. For the "bad" future, I used natural cool colours like neon purples and vibrant blues in the colour palette as well as images of technology to create a distorted and destructive future. In this future humans have reach the singularity with technology, the lines between man and machine have been blurred, but to get to that point, humans disregarded all other life on the planet, leading to mass extinctions. Throughout the zine, I used text sparingly, utilising it to compliment the images. the text is sequenced in a way to show a path towards these futures.
On the backs of the postcards I used the analogy "doomsday clock". Created and maintained since 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, this clock refers to how close we are to man made catastrophe, based on the current threats to humanity from unchecked scientific and technological sciences. the main factors to consider how close we are to midnight (global catastrophe) is climate change and nuclear risk. I used this metaphor to highlight the dangers of technological advancements that do not consider the environment. We are currently at 100 seconds to midnight, mainly due to the current state of climate change. When using this metaphor in tangent with the "bad" future images, I hope to paint a dystopian future as a result of unchecked technological advancements. In conjunction to this image, I used 59 minutes to midnight in tangent with the "good " future to show a potentially better future where humans used technology not only to advance us, but also combat ecological disasters. with this project I hope to highlight the choice we have in what future we want.
