GONE BY 2050
(A collab with Elena Foraker and Maddie Woods)

Although challenging to confront, I think speculation in design is most constructive when imagining and examining near, possible and probable futures. In a collaborative installation project and performance, I wanted to change the perspective around the conversations on climate change. As part of a small group, I worked to translate the message of a dry United Nations sustainable goals report into a visceral and emotional experience of loss through performance and installation to enhance the connection of participants to the message. We pulled on the tropes of a funeral, kitsch gilded frames, candles, floral memorial wreaths, memorial cards  and the associated ephemera and invited people into a decorated memorial space to hear a eulogy for the produce/food items that would be lost due to climate change by 2050.

The serious delivery of the performance underlines the irony. Starting outside the space, a traditional sign set the tone for a funeral memorial event. As people move into the space they are handed a memorial card noting tributes to the produce and foods that have passed. They  notice that among the flowers, wreaths and in place of a coffin there is a table holding a single plate of food made of the last remnants of that produce. They are invited to sit at the table where the eulogies are delivered. Performance ends with the food - a chocolate cherry cake being cut and solemnly offered to them - the last chocolate cherry cake on Earth.