Month: September 2021

It’s Circular

“It’s Circular” arises from the problems and needs that professionals in the creative industry have in storing the references and content that inspires them.

In general, they use tools that do not store information in a visual form. The content ends up scattered on various platforms and there is a gap between the search for references and information and the beginning of the creative process in which users start to make combinations between the saved references.

Our tool aims to unite these two parts, providing the user with a space where they can visually save any type of content and facilitate the start of the creative process, enabling interaction and combination between different references.

Thesis

Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVA) are currently fed with neurotypical databases. The data they use and the human behaviours they copy exclude collectives with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism. These collectives not only are capable to carry on daily-life tasks, but also contribute to having diversity and uniqueness in our societies.

How would it be if we could feed Artificial Intelligence (AI) with databases that weren’t based on neuronally typical behaviours? Can neurodivergent data lead to having more inclusive technologies?

The Politics of Dancing

The popular notion that dance culture is apathetic and apolitical comes from the attempt to tame and repress it’s ecstatic and defiant nature.

“The Politics of Dancing” is a digital platform that explores and showcases dance as an instrument of change through interactive narratives created in collaboration with researchers and multidisciplinary creatives.

The goal is to contribute to a deeper understanding of dance culture as a powerful movement that enables the unconscious development of political elements while raising a broader discussion on how it reflects current socio-political environments, encouraging readers to get involved in The Politics of Dancing on-going research.

Far Away, So Close

Authors: Tiago Rosado, Dalia Al-Akki, Jana Antoun, Juan Arizti, Assil Naji, Marta Borreguero, Elena Caubet, Inés Fernandez, Tanvi Gupta, Stephanie Ibrahim, Tracy Jabbour, Yunling Jin, Jad Karam, Selen Kurt, Alexa Nader, Joelle Nader, Mokshuda Narula, Eirini Sampani, Kuan Yi Wu, Montserrat Sevilla y Brentsen Solomon

Drawing on the transformations of interpersonal relationships brought about the outbreak of COVID-19, “Far Away, So Close” proposes a new dynamic for relating in collective space that harnesses physical distance as a factor for activating and intensifying intimate relationships. A series of mobile sound mirrors installed in public space engender different modes of interaction through the logic of play: a giant game of Chinese whispers; a concert where the music is heard on separate tracks; a personal message conveyed across a crowded square; or whispering a secret from 20 metres away -intimate experiences made magical by distance. “Far Away, So Close” understands the social distancing implemented in response to the pandemic as an opportunity to create interaction instead of isolation.

Post Luxury: Materials of Context

“Post Luxury: Materials of Context” uses discarded oyster shell to redefine material value through a crystallized ceramic that communicates context. The material addresses a growing trend of “luxury” material associations being replaced with those that create a connection to the community at its source, prioritizing sustainability and simplicity. It is the result of a detailed study of the oyster shell, mimicking its microscopic structure formation.

It can be created on site in oyster producing regions, and formed using only water, shell, and a mineral which, when controlled through heat and over time, grow crystals to bind oyster shell fragments together into a hard and durable structure. As the material reaches its end of life it can be broken down and, mimicking the oyster growth cycle, be reintegrated as the seed for a new generation of material, thus having a lifespan of centuries.