STARTS PRIZE’18 – Nomination
NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism is a transmedia exploration told through speculative product design, emerging technologies, cognitive research, and transhumanism. Created by and for women of color, Hyphen-Labs presents a multi-layered possible future that transcends the constraints of the present; a realm which The New Yorker has called “another plane of consciousness.”
Hyphen-Labs and its collaborators designed a roster of products—such as earrings that can record police altercations and clothing that thwarts facial recognition—thematically rooted in security, protection, and visibility.
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The virtual reality experience is the first chapter of a science fiction story placing you in a “neurocosmetology lab” where black women are the pioneers of brain optimization. Here, instead of ordinary braids, customers are fitted with transcranial electrodes that allow access to a surreal digital temple blending the physical with the digital.
Additionally, participants are invited to contribute to ongoing neurological and cognitive impact research studies as a way of bringing scientific exploration into public spaces.
Credits:
Directors:
Ashley Baccus-Clark, Ece Tankal, Carmen Aguilar y Wedge, Nitzu Bartov
Technical director:
Todd Bryant
Character designer:
Halime Maloof
Character animator:
Lajune Mcmillian
Product designer:
Michelle Cortese
Product designer:
Adam Harvey
Product designer:
[ab]screenwear
Sound designer:
Memoire
Sound engineer:
Mert Çetinkaya
Voice actor:
Dyane Harvey
Character illustrator:
Ludmila Leiva
Sound engineer:
Adam Sobolew
Motion capture:
Future Media Labs
Animation:
Mind Traveler Design
Support received from:
Intel, Oregon Story Board, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), Current Museum, Somerset House, NEW INC