When I received the project briefing, I was excited yet uncertain about how to tackle the task of creating a physical installation that depicts a dystopian future resulting from our carelessness towards the environment. The project had a clear focus, but I wasn’t quite sure where to start. However, I knew I wanted to create something tangible that people could experience first-hand, something that would really drive the message home.

At first, I had this idea of creating an installation of mutated foliage inspired by the movie Annihilation. I went to the 3D model making workshop and made an alien-inspired miniature. However, as much as I loved the idea, I couldn’t find a sustainable way to execute it. I knew that using plastic or paper would only add to the waste we produce, which would be contradictory to my core values of reducing waste and promoting sustainability.

At the time, I was working part-time at a high-street fashion retail shop, and the amount of waste produced daily made me feel guilty about my contribution to fast fashion. The experience was eye-opening, and it made me realize how much we take for granted and how our actions can have a lasting impact on the environment. It was then that I decided to use all the plastic and rubbish from the store to create my outcome. This would not only be sustainable, but it would also align with my core values of reducing waste and promoting sustainability.

I decided to create an underwater landscape that would tell the story of our future. It would depict the consequences of decades of fast fashion and single-use plastics that once wrapped around every garment we owned. Seashells would now be piles of clothing security tags, and our future bodies would exist in an ocean of our own garbage. I wanted to create an experience that would allow observers to reflect on the impact of their actions on the environment and how their choices could shape the future.

To ensure that I could execute my design effectively, I started off with simple sketches and developed a 3D miniature model. This allowed me to experiment with different arrangements and use the space to my advantage. It also helped me prepare for the installation process to be more efficient with my time.

The installation was challenging but rewarding. I sourced materials from the retail shop and repurposed them into something meaningful. It was a process of trial and error, but I learned a lot along the way. I had to be resourceful and think creatively to bring my vision to life.

I was pleased with my outcome and how people interacted with it. It held its own atmosphere in contrast to the rest of the studio, and the experience allowed observers to reflect on the impact of their actions on the environment. It was a reminder that we all have a responsibility to take care of the planet, and that small changes in our everyday lives can have a big impact on the future.

I was lucky to get to go on a trip to Barcelona over the Easter half term and visit the famous Casa Batlló by Gaudi. Although the house itself was an amazing immersive experience. On the way out of the house, visitors go down a staircase which was turned into an immersive installation by Kengo Kuma and lit by Mario Nanni in honour of Gaudi, utilising every bit of space in this incredible house. This staircase installation was inspired by visualising what Gaudi’s deep subconscious and was in reference to the rest of the organically inspired forms throughout the house. This installation was made from 164,000 metres of chains handing from different hights and in different organic patterns. This staircase leads the observers to the next immersive experience in the house.

In the basement of the Batallo house was a 10D immersive experience developed by AI to reimagine what the subconscious of Gaudi’s mind would look like if it were to be visualised. This was presented in a room lined with screens across the walls, floors and ceilings and an automatic door which slid into place once viewers entered the room ( the first in the world) playing out a series of merging shapes and patterns and soundscapes. This was curated by feeding information about Gaudi and his work and drawings to an artificial intelligence developing the largest library of his work. This was then generated into this projection to give us a deeper look into Gaudi’s genius.

My recent changes in career path had given me the inspiration on producing my final outcome for this project and has given me the opportunity to make a statement through my work. I had just started my new job in a high street retail shop at the beginning of this project and have been absolutely shocked to find out just how much unrecycled waste was produced on a daily basis. Once a week we would receive stock delivery containing anything from 100 – 300 products. Each products wrapped in multiple pieces of single use plastic that was not recycled. Only thing that the store would be recycling was some of the cardboard boxes. Each week it was my responsibility to unwrap the delivery and put out the stock. Not only was all the packaging unnecessary, but we then went on to re-package it  for deliveries in more plastic wrapping. Each week I had to do that I only felt more and more guilty for throwing away all of that rubbish knowing it was going to either go into landfill to be burned into the air we breathe or the oceans we swim in. In the picture to the right was just a small fraction of the clothing that was delivered each week. Regardless of how luxury some retailers are, everything is wrapped in plastic!

I imagine that in a dystopian future, humans will have failed to address the environmental consequences of their actions. The outcome being sea levels rising to the point that entire metropolitan civilizations would be drowned beneath the water. The few individuals who survive would have been a part of the elite which had exploited nature for capitalistic gain and would have had to money to adjust to a new way of life. Regardless of their social class they wouldn’t be able to escape permanent darkness owing to the heavy layer of junk and plastic waste that covers the water’s surface. The once-thriving cities that previously stood as monuments to human development and success will become nothing more than forgotten ruins, drowned and lost to the depths of the ocean.

From the first breefing I have been thinking about doing something dystopian based in the future. I was inspired by the film Annihilation. The premise of the film that alien radiation was altering the DNA build up of living things on earth. I imagine my installation would be a foliage like wall of mutated flowers.

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