RC1 MonuMEntAl WAStEl AnDS

Design: Hadin Charbel and Déborah lópez lobato technical: Vicente Sánchez, Zehao Quin theory: Albert Brenchat

Research Cluster 1 explores the imminent nature of the Anthropocene under the lens of ubiquity, examining the production of data, raw material, logistical processes and their impacts on contemporary scenes. Focusing on two strands of research topics, ‘Cli-migration’ and ‘Autonomous Ecologies’, speculations are put forward that challenge current profit driven models, arguing for decolonisation, decentralisation, automation and participation, to collapse human and non-human perspectives.

A methodology of preservation through adaptation, referred to as ‘decoding’ and ‘recoding’, deploys a combination of machine learning, generative algorithms and video game engines, moving away from a nostalgic return, and instead embracing the uncertainty and possibilities through practical yet sensitively tuned, contextualised strategies.

This year’s theme is ‘Hyper-Local’, questioning the meaning of local, vernacular, sustainability, and time today. Building upon previous years’ use of video game engines and world building, Climate-Fiction (Cli-Fi) serves as a vehicle for these imminent realities to be researched, experimented with and projected, with the added foregrounding of physical prototyping.