JOURNEY MAPPING
Constant and variables
A meeting or interview can be designed in a way that both parties can get the most out of it. To achieve that, we have to think beyond the usual, beyond the Q/A, and embrace the variables.
What are the different ways to transform conservation into something more?
How can I get to know more instead of just talking to you?
How can I make someone’s brain stimulate and shake it to make them think differently and give information in a different form?
These questions ignited the idea of using the drawing exercises as the main mode of research, this summer for the In-house Design research project ‘Indigenous autonomy’ based on the Navajo tribal community, led by Artist Hans Bauhmann and associated with ONWARD organization.
There is a different forms of an interview but one of the most traditional ways is the one-on-one conversation where one person asks questions and the other one replies. The interviewer is in the search of information and the interviewee is in an abundance of hidden knowledge. The whole process has solely a few constants and many variables. The constants are the intentions to ask and provide, the time frame, and the topic of discussion.
The variables are usually considered as something to be improvised upon, like, the interviewee arrived 2 hours late, the interviewer lost the documents, the mic doesn’t work, your better half is in an emergency, there is a child in the room, apocalypse, a unicorn interrupted the meeting, or a missed opportunity to allow the person you are talking to share more than just words.
In other words, a drawing exercise is a form of qualitative analysis where a set of questions are asked of the participant and he/she is expected to draw the answers sequentially, in any form they perceive, on a large sheet of paper. The motive of this activity is to understand the participant’s way of seeing(perceiving) the very reality they exist in. Here, the quality of the drawing and the correctness of the answer are not to be focused upon. The most important part is to figure out how the sequential combination of questions will lead the person to share a memorable incident or a feeling or an experience that can either be situated in their past or their future. In this journey mapping exercise, participants shared how their Navajo identity connects with the place they are currently living in, which in this case, in Los Angeles, California.
Usually, when we talk about drawing, beautiful images come to our mind but here, as also mentioned in the previous paragraph, the drawing exercise has nothing to do with creating beautiful artwork. It is about allowing a person to think in shapes, figures, lines, dots, etc., instead of verbal words. This allows for cognition. The mind forces itself to create a new chain of thoughts, build up new connections, access hidden information, and transform it to communicate in a different medium altogether. That’s where the real beauty lies. To allow this exercise to reach its full potential, the instructor or the interviewer needs to take care of a few things.
One has to understand that the person they are talking to is a human who either has never drawn or doesn’t like to draw or might be an expert artist but most of them do not draw daily. So, how to make someone comfortable with the idea of drawing in a not-so-private setting? The answer is a little bit of humor and a pregame.
After finalizing questions for the main exercise, we thought of a warm-up exercise to be performed beforehand in a group. The intention is to make them comfortable with holding a pencil, drawing answers to questions, and feeling confident about their drawings. It is crucial to perform this part in a group. The warm-up will give them an idea of what the main exercise will be like and also, will let them see that every other participant is struggling the same way that they are. This removes the anxiety, nervousness, doubts, and shyness about one’s way of drawing which is very important so that the person can perform the main exercise without worrying about any of the external factors.
This methodology has been performed before as a form of qualitative research but for this project, it has been transformed into a visual medium through which people can share their stories. It started with the idea of changing the form of the interview but developed into understanding the worldview/perception of a human being with cultural background. The people who took part in this activity belonged to the Navajo tribal community. Through the form of drawings, they shared how Los Angeles relates to them, what is their relationship to it, how they are still intact with their value system, living in a metro city, and how they perceive the world and other related aspects.
A meeting or interview can be designed in a way that both parties can get the most out of it. To achieve that, we have to think beyond the usual, beyond the Q/A, and embrace the variables.
What are the different ways to transform conservation into something more?
How can I get to know more instead of just talking to you?
How can I make someone’s brain stimulate and shake it to make them think differently and give information in a different form?
These questions ignited the idea of using the drawing exercises as the main mode of research, this summer for the In-house Design research project ‘Indigenous autonomy’ based on the Navajo tribal community, led by Artist Hans Bauhmann and associated with ONWARD organization.
There is a different forms of an interview but one of the most traditional ways is the one-on-one conversation where one person asks questions and the other one replies. The interviewer is in the search of information and the interviewee is in an abundance of hidden knowledge. The whole process has solely a few constants and many variables. The constants are the intentions to ask and provide, the time frame, and the topic of discussion.
The variables are usually considered as something to be improvised upon, like, the interviewee arrived 2 hours late, the interviewer lost the documents, the mic doesn’t work, your better half is in an emergency, there is a child in the room, apocalypse, a unicorn interrupted the meeting, or a missed opportunity to allow the person you are talking to share more than just words.
In other words, a drawing exercise is a form of qualitative analysis where a set of questions are asked of the participant and he/she is expected to draw the answers sequentially, in any form they perceive, on a large sheet of paper. The motive of this activity is to understand the participant’s way of seeing(perceiving) the very reality they exist in. Here, the quality of the drawing and the correctness of the answer are not to be focused upon. The most important part is to figure out how the sequential combination of questions will lead the person to share a memorable incident or a feeling or an experience that can either be situated in their past or their future. In this journey mapping exercise, participants shared how their Navajo identity connects with the place they are currently living in, which in this case, in Los Angeles, California.
Usually, when we talk about drawing, beautiful images come to our mind but here, as also mentioned in the previous paragraph, the drawing exercise has nothing to do with creating beautiful artwork. It is about allowing a person to think in shapes, figures, lines, dots, etc., instead of verbal words. This allows for cognition. The mind forces itself to create a new chain of thoughts, build up new connections, access hidden information, and transform it to communicate in a different medium altogether. That’s where the real beauty lies. To allow this exercise to reach its full potential, the instructor or the interviewer needs to take care of a few things.
One has to understand that the person they are talking to is a human who either has never drawn or doesn’t like to draw or might be an expert artist but most of them do not draw daily. So, how to make someone comfortable with the idea of drawing in a not-so-private setting? The answer is a little bit of humor and a pregame.
After finalizing questions for the main exercise, we thought of a warm-up exercise to be performed beforehand in a group. The intention is to make them comfortable with holding a pencil, drawing answers to questions, and feeling confident about their drawings. It is crucial to perform this part in a group. The warm-up will give them an idea of what the main exercise will be like and also, will let them see that every other participant is struggling the same way that they are. This removes the anxiety, nervousness, doubts, and shyness about one’s way of drawing which is very important so that the person can perform the main exercise without worrying about any of the external factors.
This methodology has been performed before as a form of qualitative research but for this project, it has been transformed into a visual medium through which people can share their stories. It started with the idea of changing the form of the interview but developed into understanding the worldview/perception of a human being with cultural background. The people who took part in this activity belonged to the Navajo tribal community. Through the form of drawings, they shared how Los Angeles relates to them, what is their relationship to it, how they are still intact with their value system, living in a metro city, and how they perceive the world and other related aspects.
Decisions/
Feed the dark,
Embrace the light
You running away or getting close?
It’s neither a circle nor a line,
there aint no walls.
But subjective with a point of view.
What they choose to see
is What you choose to do
{MIC CHECK}
‘How design process can include human values existing in the disdained and disregarded reality?’ - That’s my topic for thesis gateway.
“Boring and too serious” says the dark.
“It’s really important and big topic” says the light.
“It’s just not fun enough” adds the former.
“but it will be a great thing to work on. It will put me amongst the greats” argues the latter.
“I don’t want the noble greatness. It’s too sad and just not fun.” screams the former.
“I wanna do crazy shit, something super amazing, super awesome, something grand” explains the dark.
“Me too, but this is who I am and I just can’t run away from it” light finishes its part.
“Boring and too serious” says the dark.
“It’s really important and big topic” says the light.
“It’s just not fun enough” adds the former.
“but it will be a great thing to work on. It will put me amongst the greats” argues the latter.
“I don’t want the noble greatness. It’s too sad and just not fun.” screams the former.
“I wanna do crazy shit, something super amazing, super awesome, something grand” explains the dark.
“Me too, but this is who I am and I just can’t run away from it” light finishes its part.
If your heart is not with it 100%, just don't do it.
“If you are going to try, go all the way or don’t even try”
- Charles bukowski
“If you are going to try, go all the way or don’t even try”
- Charles bukowski
Scene 1:
Prof: “What do you wanna work on?”
Me: “Illegal Electronic-waste.”
Prof: “Do you feel passionate about it?”
Me: “I feel sad about it.”
Prof: “How will you feel passionate about it? What can you add to feel that?”
Me: “Music maybe.”
Verse 1:
I wanna get stabbed.
Attracted by the notion of pain
I kept my threshold in-check.
Doesn’t matter it’s Real or fake
the boundary’s faded
Somewhere in my mind it’s integrated.
The notions, the beliefs
The efforts, the deeds
To be or not to be,
to do or not to see.
Raised by the saints to be good and wise.
I injected my veins, fuck the wise
mixed the blood, rolled the dice.
Kept feeding it for the sake of all
devil scratches the walls, ruins it all.
Afraid to be biased, I wanna save your soul
Afraid to be fair, I crave for the bowl.
I injected the veins, mixed the blood
Calmed the devil. saved the walls.
Excerpt:
The day, I chose to work on that topic. I felt like I did a mistake. But did I? I selected it. Out of the whole world of topics I chose that. I had to choose something. It was me who took that decision based on few influences of my own past and ingrained voice of my brother “Let’s set up an e-waste treatment business someday”. It was not me but it was me, just not completely with it. I was sublimally influenced and I don’t like that.
Long time ago, I decided to lead my life with intuitions. To believe in instincts more not calculative risk. The happiest and most amazing decisions of my life were those taken purely with the ecstasy and a strong belief in heart. No doubts. It has stuck with me for so long now that I have lost the ability to see forward and calculate the pros and cons. I believe in shaping the future with my thoughts.
I chose the same topic for the next spring term in mexico city thinking I’ll just try it out. Did I selected it because I didn't have anything else to work on? or maybe I did not think about it completely or maybe the lack of knowledge is the reason or was I actually into it? I made peace with myself to just go with it but somewhere in a small corner of my heart, I knew the ecstasy was missing. Obsession was missing.
Scene 2:
Luis: “Bro, Wear dirty clothes and worker shoes”
Me: “Okay”
Luis: “And act very normal to the space”
Me: “Okay”
Luis: “Just follow me and don't talk to people”
Me: “Okay”
We got on the bus on our way to colonia renovacion. The main site for my mexico city research. The news, organisations and other sources said it’s a very dangerous area. Do not go there alone.
The moment I heard the word “dangerous” I was sold. I saw videos of shooting and kidnapping in colonia renovacion but somehow I was fine with it, actually a little excited. Now, I had to go. I had to see it with my own eyes. I found my way in with Luis. He showed me around. My mind was finding ways to how to enter the place and won’t get in trouble. How to blend in so good that no one notices. Ecstasy was back for a moment.
Luis: “On your left is the colony”
We got off the bus. Walked towards an open market. Strolled through it and went inside the colony, walked on the streets with little pace, observing the recycling workshop and the environment. I felt very present in that moment. Nothing was escaping my site. The senses and instincts were on point. Loved it.
Luis: “Be more natural my friend, Walk fast.
Me: “Okay”
Luis: “Now we’ll go to my friend’s house. Let me do the talking”
Verse 2:
The part of me that didn’t got killed.
I tried to but it never will.
It’s the blood, the air, the wind,
Clothes can change, what about skin?
Once the ink gets dropped
The white ain’t the same
Embrace that, ain’t a shame.
What you say “life ain’t a game”
Nonsense,
it’s not worth the blame.
The part of me that didn’t got killed
I never wanted to and I never will.
Too young to die, I came to fly
Still a mediocre, hate to cry
Decisions, Decisions, fucking brain fried.
What you looking at, is ain’t the sky.
Feed the dark, embrace the light.
Excerpt:
I was following him, pretending to be uninteresting. I don’t know if it was acting or me being safe. I found myself inside a tiny but open roof home of the union leader of pepenadores. Amongst four spanish speaking people and a big dog. I was behind luis and was very aware that one wrong move, shit can hit the fan. I was being careful. Somewhere, I believed nothing is gonna happen. I was avoiding eye contact, I didn't know spanish, couldn’t made out much of what they were saying and was just looking around like someone who doesn’t care but actually observing every small detail. Like trying to draw a live image In my mind using my eyes as the tool to remember it later. Is that what they can being immersive? I don't know, I was completely alive. Highly Conscious. I think I am a natural at this shit. I came out of there like it was a piece of cake.
My threshold was checked again.
Somewhere in my heart, I was loving this. It was feeding my darkness, the craziness. There is a part of me which is inclined to choose non-safe line of direction, not because it sounds cool but in order to see if I can handle it. The other part of mine tries to keep me on balance. It kind of holds my dark side on the leash, which sometimes comes out as self descriptive. that influence my decisions a lot. It keeps me on the edge.
Scene 3
Crowd: “Hahahaha. What will she do with chocolate?”
Me: “Here, I only have this for you now.”
She was sitting in the middle of the parking space surrounded by a lot of single story shops like an open shopping complex. In her old age, Wearing old torn clothes, cupping her hand and asking for money. I saw her from afar. Riding my bicycle, I passed her and went to a shop nearby, bought a milk pack and 1 chocolate. I came back, got on my bike, saw her for a moment and left. After a while I couldn’t go any further. I had to stop. I stopped paddling and fought with my myself for a while, took a U-turn and went to her. I didn’t have any more money so i gave her my chocolate.
The moment i gave her my chocolate, the people watching from their shops cracked up. They laughed. I didn’t get it. For me, It felt peaceful because I followed my deeper urge to give her something of mine, to share, but also in a way, a victory to detach my self from it’s worth. I fought over the attachment of that chocolate which I really wanted to eat. A. 13 year old kid who is willing to donate the things he loved. I was like that. It’s easy to give away things you don’t need but really hard to let go of something you really like. That's the real test. Ultimate vulnerability.
The moment i gave her my chocolate, the people watching from their shops cracked up. They laughed. I didn’t get it. For me, It felt peaceful because I followed my deeper urge to give her something of mine, to share, but also in a way, a victory to detach my self from it’s worth. I fought over the attachment of that chocolate which I really wanted to eat. A. 13 year old kid who is willing to donate the things he loved. I was like that. It’s easy to give away things you don’t need but really hard to let go of something you really like. That's the real test. Ultimate vulnerability.
{Mic Dropped}
Akash Dhiman,
January 30, 2018
January 30, 2018
An hour in Colonia Renovación
On January 26th, Thursday, I went to Colonia Renovación, zone de pepenadores (area of rag pickers). It is a major garbage dump site in Mexico City operating for 50 years and is one of the most important sites for my research on informal e-waste recycling in Mexico City. I was invited by a fellow researcher to visit the site. He is a sociologist student and recycler. To keep confidentiality “H” will be used instead of his name in the rest of the article.
“Please, my friend be very discreet. It’s dangerous. Only wear dirty clothes. I’ll bring extra dirty clothes in case you are not dirty enough.” - H
Those were the instructions given to me by H over a skype session a day before. We met at the Guelatao metro station. He passed me his dirty unwashed sweater and used a beanie to wear. I rubbed some mud on my jeans and shoes and got already as a worker. He himself was wearing a turned-off shirt, old jeans, and worker shoes. We walked for half a mile talking about the situation of waste in Mexico City and I told him briefly about my previous work. We took the minibus and got off the bus near a marketplace. The place was filled with open tents, and goods were arranged on the floor over a piece of cloth, it looked similar to the vegetable market in India.
They were selling everything from new to used shoes, old clothes, broken remote controls, iPads with broken screens, old generation dell laptops, mobile phones, perfume bottles, toys, small bicycles, hard drives, automobile parts, and a lot of other things which I believe were taken from the trash, restored and now being resold. The place was vibrant and had a fine gathering. As told by H, it was a pop-up black market, that only opens up from Saturday morning to evening.
The market was right in front of the colony. After roaming around a while we entered one street going inside the colony. It was quite wide and almost every house had 2 stories. Some of them were used as a warehouse to store trash, some of them looked newly constructed and some were old with anchors coming out of the roof. There were trees on both the pathways and inside the houses. I saw three people on the left side of the street seating on the curbside just outside the house. They were working with some sort of plastic and electronics. To me, it seems like they were separating things. The woman on the right was surrounded by motherboards, casing, and cables. She was separating the wires from the board and throwing the board on the right, accumulating into a green heap. The young-looking guy in front of her was also sitting low on the floor surrounded by electronics and separating them. Inside, there was a heap of trash that looked like old CPUs. A guy in far was moving the big bags. Also, there was a dog just sitting outside.
“Move fast my friend” H whispered.
I only had the privilege to take a glance at things as I was supposed to not attract too much attention. This is because only an outsider will observe things with strange looks and outsiders were not taken lightly in this place. Therefore, I was trying my best to be someone who walked the streets of Colonia Renovación a million times. We kept on walking straight. I was quiet, observing as much as I can and spitting on the road once in a while. I guess that would make me look like one of them. My walk changed and my expression became serious.
The site was as normal as any other colony. There were people on the streets wearing decent clothes, women carrying infants, and kids strolling in the middle of the streets. I don’t know if they were happy, but they didn’t look sad or in need of some sort of help. They were fine. Normal. There were shops and stalls within close proximity of the workshops. The more I walked, the more I saw houses and mini trucks filled with garbage. It varied from plastic casings to computer parts, displays, CPUs, and motherboards stacked on the side of the streets and in big bags inside.
We took a right and there was a small vegetable market on the streets. Women, men, young girls, and small kids were all around, chatting and playing, just like in any other society. In the lane, perpendicular to me, on the right side, there was a big crane being used by 2 men wearing orange suits. It looked like they were laying out electricity lines over the poles.
We took another right after a while. The house on my right had nice orange paint with plants climbing up the wall and the house on my left was all filled up with big bags stacked up to the first floor. There was a nice blue ford mustang on the right side followed by a CDMX taxi. It gave me a sense of wealth distribution and the occupation of people living there.
I saw more people sitting on the curbside surrounded by bags of trash, standing next to them was an old ford mini truck with broken windshields filled with trash bags heaped in the back and inside. People were working with some sort of plastic and metal casing, taking them apart with their hands. Another guy was beating, what looked like a burned roll of wire cable, with a hammer. It looked like he was trying to separate the plastic from the copper inside. A big dog was chained to the nearby pole.
We went on a little further and saw more similar sites along the streets. After a while, we came out on the main street and took a right alongside the boundary of the colony. H was constantly passing me warnings. It was the first time he brought an international person to this area.
“be more natural bro”,
“walk fast”,
“be careful”,
“let me do the talking”,
H told me he was friends with some of the workers and we are going to their house now. On the main street, I saw CDMX garbage trucks and other trucks almost filled with black bags of municipal trash. They were parked on the left side with men and women separating the waste with hands and putting them into different bags. The bags were placed out on the streets around the back side of the truck filled with crushed Plastic bottles, biodegradable substances, and other household garbage. On the right side, there were big furniture shops with office chairs, tables, and other furniture placed on display out on the streets. The furniture looked cleaned and refurbished. My assumption was that they found it in the trash and now reselling it after some repair.
One man’s trash, that’s another man’s come up.
People at Colonia Renovación are earning an income out of the trash of Mexico City. This colony is playing a very important role in the waste management system for Mexico City but somehow it is perceived as dangerous and prohibited to visit by the western part of the city. Nobody is willing to go to this place which handles the last important part of the product cycle, recycling. It is strange how reality works.
We were still on the main street and but after a while, we stopped in front of a house. Two ladies were standing just outside the door behind a waist-size big white bag filled with circular plastic transparent trays. They were holding the trays in their bare hands and cleaning them with a stick. The trays looked similar to the ones seen in the laboratories and hospitals. After taking slimy stuff off it and they were putting them back in the bag. My friend talked to them for a while in Spanish and asked for permission to go inside. I was just following him and stood behind him the whole time and was pretending like an uninterested tired fellow worker.
We went inside a low-height door and ended up in a very congested center lobby of the house. There was a strong smell of soap. An old man wearing big green gloves standing in front of a blue drum. A woman came out from the room just behind the old man. A 5 to the 6-year-old kid was standing 5 steps from me and a big dalmatian dog was a foot away. I was standing in the 5 x 5 feet (approx.) space with 3 men, a woman, a child, and a dog. The roof of the ground floor was around 8 feet and the first floor felt reachable if I’ll just jump, hold the rail and pull up. The blue drum was filled with some sort of liquid and he was doing something in it using his hands. I was standing right behind H so my vision was blocked a little, it was not clear what the old guy was actually doing. On my 5’o clock, there was a small path leading to congested stairs with some gas cylinders placed alongside steps and boxes in the way. At my 2’o clock, there was a big guy in a small extended area of the lobby, standing in the front of the bathtub, wearing an apron and big green gloves with a stick in his hand swirling the water-based solution in the tub. There was a pile of fabric sheets in front of the tub. He seems to be cleaning the reddish clothes heaped in front of the tub alongside the wall. I was acting very disinterested, gave a friendly greeting node to the big guy, and avoided eye contact with the others. I think I passed away with flying colors with my acting.
H talked with both the old man and the lady for around 10 minutes. I couldn’t make out what he was talking about, but It was enough time for me to observe what was going on in that lobby. It was all medical waste. The slimy stuff on the trays was laboratory chemical, the reddish sheets were bed sheets used in the operation theater, probably covered with blood. The blue drum had some dissolving agent. Amongst all that, there was a little kid standing a few steps away. Somehow it was okay for the family. I am not to judge. H told me later that they were handling this business for 5 generations. Maybe it seems okay for them for a child to be around. The old guy is the grandfather of his friends who he speaks highly of. On our way out, he met another person dragging a cart. He greeted him and talked for a few minutes. The guy was the friend he hoped to meet in the house.
We carried on and crossed the main road to come on the left side. We were back where we started. The same market was on the right.
“What do you think bro?” H asked me.
“Give me a minute. Let’s talk after a while” I replied
We walked on the main road and took another left. Now, I was walking next to an elevated field, around 12 feet high like a mini plateau. We went up. On the top, It was a big empty land with an old basketball court on it around 50 meters away.
“This is the place where all the trash used to come in 1983” H told me.
“This land and the one on your right are all filled with trash underneath. The old guy we met in the house used to live with his family here. My friends were all small at that time. It is all filled up now. Also, the woman you met in the house is the political leader of pepenadores (rag pickers)” - H
The moment he said that I hit a bump on the pathway and stumbled a bit. We laughed but I was actually moved by that fact. I was in the room with a family that has ties with the union that has been running the place for years and is highly dangerous.
I have seen a community like this back in India, it was nothing I have not seen before in terms of low-than-average life quality, messy streets, small houses, and a child around dumb but the history and social context make this special in its own way. For 40 years, things have been the same. People of this community made their own homes and developed their own colonies next to these landfills. They created the union, worked with each other, know each other and protect each other. They made their own city inside the city. The trash never stopped coming. I did hear and read about the mafia control in this place but after being there I can say it is as real as it could get.
My visit concluded in an hour. Courtesy of H, the things and details I saw will stay with me forever. One hour was a short time to come to conclusions but it was enough to touch the surface of the situation. It has also left me with a lot of questions.
Q. What are the other places this waste is coming from, not only Mexico City?
Q. How much is the government involved?
Q. Why they don’t work together with these people to spread awareness about sustainable working techniques?
Q. Where does it all go after getting separated here? Other states in Mexico? Overseas?
Q. Do hospitals really take back the waste materials? What are the regulations on that?
Q. Are there any kind of training workshop about dismantling waste?
Q. How does one get a job as a recycler?
Q. Is the water contaminated with lead and mercury?
Q. Why this place is not a research ground for scientists?
Q. Why are people in this colony are looked upon as dangerous and low-class? They are humans nonetheless.
Q. Do they develop their own recycling methods and techniques? If yes. What and how?
Q. Why the new generation is getting into the family business if they have enough money to transform their life?
All in all, these are just a few questions from a 23-year-old guy, who was born in the third world, living in LA, and visiting Mexico City. There is still a lot that needs to be learned and addressed.
The Sun and The Voyager
Your past haunts you and your future demands too much of you. There are times when the world doesn't agree with you but your gut feelings are too strong to ignore. This is the story of Dr.Hyngwar and the viking leader Ivar the boneless. This is a speculative alternate story of Ivar in an alternate universe where people are forced to use the Time-sense of Arctic region.
The speculative piece is based on the culture of ancient nordic community living in arctic region and their underdstanding time at that period. It was developed under the brief; write a piece that presents a future scenario in a world where the sense perception of time is rooted beyond Euro-American constructions. In other words, the principle by which time is constructed and understood in your world must come from values, conditions, and assumptions of a place. The written form is a screenplay where the use of time and technology is integrated in the life of the main character. In the story, Earth becomes inhabitable because of a meteor strike.
Synopsis: People are forced to live on a temporary planet where motion of the sun is similar to that of arctic region on earth, i.e, much closer to horizon. So, they have to use time in a relative manner irrespective of the duration of the day and night. The inspiration for the event is historical. It reflects back to the time when Iceland was completely occupied and had no place for any more immigrants. This eventually forced vikings to got out into the unknown sea and reach Europe. Their sense of travel and adventure took them to land where they could find place for their people to live and farm. After all, vikings were farmers but infamous for being uncivilized savage warriors as declared by christian society. In-fact, Vikings had better government system which is still somewhat used in today's democracy. This speculative scenario is also an attempt to uncover these myths about nordic community and show their true self of being a voyager and concerned about the survival of their own people.
Reflections
Writing a speculative is fun. The real challenge is to tackle the historical facts, influences and reality at the same time. In the attempt to create a new world, one tends to get distracted and ignore the delicacy of the system, diverse nature of people, demographics, timeline, consequences and reasoning. This practice was a take on afro-futurism, it uses that as a principle to think of the future and tackle the question that seems important to the auther writing the article.
The speculative piece is based on the culture of ancient nordic community living in arctic region and their underdstanding time at that period. It was developed under the brief; write a piece that presents a future scenario in a world where the sense perception of time is rooted beyond Euro-American constructions. In other words, the principle by which time is constructed and understood in your world must come from values, conditions, and assumptions of a place. The written form is a screenplay where the use of time and technology is integrated in the life of the main character. In the story, Earth becomes inhabitable because of a meteor strike.
Synopsis: People are forced to live on a temporary planet where motion of the sun is similar to that of arctic region on earth, i.e, much closer to horizon. So, they have to use time in a relative manner irrespective of the duration of the day and night. The inspiration for the event is historical. It reflects back to the time when Iceland was completely occupied and had no place for any more immigrants. This eventually forced vikings to got out into the unknown sea and reach Europe. Their sense of travel and adventure took them to land where they could find place for their people to live and farm. After all, vikings were farmers but infamous for being uncivilized savage warriors as declared by christian society. In-fact, Vikings had better government system which is still somewhat used in today's democracy. This speculative scenario is also an attempt to uncover these myths about nordic community and show their true self of being a voyager and concerned about the survival of their own people.
Reflections
Writing a speculative is fun. The real challenge is to tackle the historical facts, influences and reality at the same time. In the attempt to create a new world, one tends to get distracted and ignore the delicacy of the system, diverse nature of people, demographics, timeline, consequences and reasoning. This practice was a take on afro-futurism, it uses that as a principle to think of the future and tackle the question that seems important to the auther writing the article.
Speculative Writing
2017
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2017
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