Project concept
This project investigates how temporal acceleration shapes everyday life and structures in modern society. By exploring ways to rethink and act against current temporal structures, this project hopes to move people to think of ways to resist the current acceleration of time and be introduced to possible alternative ways of temporal living.
The project consists of three print pieces, each dealing with a different theme related to the acceleration of time. The pieces form an interconnected series, with each one being built on the previous one.
The first print is an A2 double gatefold portraying the current state of temporal acceleration in modern society.
The second print is an A2 poster acting as a practical guide on resisting temporal acceleration.
The final piece, which I consider to be the main part of the project, is a newspaper print portraying an alternative, speculative future presented in the form of news articles. It acts as a design for how a potential future could look if temporal acceleration was actively regulated by the state.
With all three pieces, one is able to not only gain an understanding the issues surrounding how time is experienced in modern times, but also learn new ways to train and alter one's own perception of time. Through the main piece, we are able to explore what a future society that prioritises temporal deacceleration could look like, and discover new concepts of how temporal living could be structured.
01 | The PRESENT
The „Present“ consists of a few essays that were read and discussed throughout the semester, all centered on the acceleration of time in mondern society. They explore how productivity, performance, and constant development in society shape our (negative) experience of time.
The essays connect the theoretical perspectives from the readings to my own thoughts and lived experience.
02 | THE RESISTANCE
The „Resistance“ is a research based guide on understanding temporal acceleration and the what it means to resist it. It includes a collection of simple slow-down practices (collected from peers of this course and other students) that one is encouraged to incorporate into their daily lifestyle to help achieve the goal of percieving time slower.
Set between the gatefold, which documents lived acceleration of time, and the future news articles, which speculate on systematic temporal regulation, the role of this piece is to act as a transitional piece between the two opposite forms of temporal living.
The „Resistance“ acts as a connecting piece between how we can go from the „Present“ to the „Future“
03 | THE FUTURE
For the speculative articles, I was interested in exploring how a society could look like where time and medicine/ healthcare play a dominant role.
After doing some research, I stumbled upon the term 'medicalisation', which refers to the process by which formerly normal concepts are now seen and treated as medical problems. According to this, medicine functions then as a form of social control, regulating behaviour without appearing oppressive.
Regarding my topic of temporal acceleration, I was interested in designing a concept of a society where time is medicalised. In other words, a society where accelerated temporal perception is defined as a medical problem that needs regulated medical treatment to overcome.
Additionally, given that we currently live in a world where hyper-productivity and acceleration are seen as a requirement of society in order ensure continuous growth and development, I wondered what a society with the exact opposite approach might look like. A society where temporal deceleration is considered to be the ultimate goal in order to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
By combing those two aspects i formulated my main question:
The Medicalisation of Time: How can a future with alternative forms of temporal structures look like, if the speeding up of time was actively regulated or resisted?
The speculative news articles are considered xtopic, meaning they are not clearly dystopian nor utopian. Your subjective interpretation determines whether they are seen as positive or negative scenarios.
It was important to me that the news articles were perceived as somewhat realistic. I wanted people to be able to imagine a society like that forming within the next few generations, but not see it completely as a form that we currently live in.
Therefore, to create the articles, I based the design of the future society roughly on some of our current functions and princples in society, but altered it to emphasise the topics of medicine and temporal deceleration.
