The Crisis of Imagination

What do you see when you imagine the future? Is it a simulacra of Hollywood apocalypse? Or a utopia for a minority of the population?

The Crisis of Imagination is a work which translates my preliminary PhD research into a publicly consumable idea.

This work was exhibited at Linden New Art, 6 Sept - 24 Nov 2024, as part of Melbourne’s Design Fringe festival.

My current design research explores the crisis of imagination which theorists have identified as prevalent within capitalist societies. I wonder if this cynicism is central to our societal inability to act positively on climate and social justice issues?

If we imagine ourselves to be doomed - then we are. But what if we can imagine a future that pushes past our addiction to individualism and toward collective justice? These sides of the coin come together into one distorted poster, which both presents and obscures the information. Hard to grasp initially, the form of the work speaks to how the concept is hidden within layers of multi-disciplinary research. Obscured at first, the message of the work comes through after close observation and then is suddenly clear.

Design creates environments that facilitate meaningful conversations. My pending PhD design research aims to facilitate a conversation about the social imagination, and nudge it open toward visions of a desirable future.

                                          Studio 'Work In Progress' Shot, August 2024.