Student podcasts respond to NOT NATURAL
Mediator Prina listens to audio in Sentient Forest by Bompas & Parr in SWARM, 2022. Image by Alan Weedon.
Each exhibition at Science Gallery Melbourne, students from The University of Melbourne take the themes of of the show and unpack them through audio stories. This year, Text and Audio Journalism students were inspired by NOT NATURAL to create short audio pieces about themes as diverse as prosthetic limbs, cosmetic procedures, colonisation, AI and evolution. Each student brings their own perspective to the exhibition’s topic, and the stories are a fantastic way to dive further into the exhibition and understand some of the big questions it raises.
Listen below to their audio stories, grouped under specific themes you might see in NOT NATURAL.
BODY MODIFICATION
Whether tattoos, lip filler or braces, humans regularly intervene or modify their bodies. Some of these changes are subtle and innocuous, some of them might be essential for a better life. Students took this jumping off point to reflect on the various ways we modify our bodies out of choice or out of necessity.
AI AND US
Whether we like it or not, AI has quickly integrated into our everyday lives. It’s completing your sentences, creating images or music, and sometimes helping with university assignments. The audio stories respond to this technological advance through a variety of lenses below with the overwhelming conclusion: AI is here to stay.
THE WORLD AROUND US
The impact of humans on the natural environment is long past reversible. The question now is, what can we do to slow down the effects of colonisation, over population and climate change? Students reflect on the state of play as we move further into the 21st Century.
These podcasts are just a selection of the audio responses by Text & Audio Journalism students from The University of Melbourne. More will be available to listen to in NOT NATURAL’s podcast listening booth when the exhibition opens on February 17 2024.
Join us and explore the growing friction between natural and artificial systems!
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