In this multimedia project, I theorized about what our bodies may transform into in the not so distant future in what some scholars call the "posthuman" phase. This project eventually cumulated in this VR exploration.
The 3 phases of our posthuman life. . .
Birth
In 2270, a post-human is born. She is still young, but her eyes are opened wide upon the digital world to receive as much visual input and, therefore, pleasure as possible. Like the Widewalls idea, this dystopian world regards the post-human body as insignificant while the mind reigns supreme. This belief has created scientific advances, but has also caused the bodies of some to be used as objects. This post-human is lucky enough to not be one of them. When she reaches the age of two, her miniscule brain space will be filled to the brim with visual memories collected through her giant eyes. Evolutionary changes resulting from her ancestor’s lack of brain use has given her a caved in skull and shriveled brain. Her memories would have been taken and stored in the “cloud” warehouses, but technological advances have rendered that form of storage obsolete. Now she is connected to scores of workers, Memorys, that store her memories inside their oversized heads. It is now 2272 and she is born as a full-fledged post-human.
Initial sketches of the three phases of posthuman life.
Life
After 2272, the post-human is healthy and able to develop into a mature adult. The connections that drain her brain storage into the Memory workers allow her to continue living and consuming more and more visual wealth. She has no ears, body, or brain space; the post-human physical structure is minimized to focus entirely on drinking up ceaseless visuals through bulging eyes. Her body is insignificant -- it is no longer of use -- while the Memorys’ bodies are treasured commodities because they are valuable to her. Like her, the elite post-humans are addicted to endless media use, so they sacrifice the lives and bodies of others to fulfill their desires. She splurges in wealth and pleasure in the form of visuals and her storage of Memorys begins to fill up again. No matter, she can just connect to another batch of 100 Memorys. Her mouth stretches into a never ending smile as her consumption continues.
Initial developments in Google Sketchup.
Death
Being attached to the Memorys has allowed the post-human to live a long and opulent life. She does not speak or move, but simply splurges on visuals through her wide open eyes. Year after year all she does is see. As her storage space fills up with more visual information, endless batches of Memorys are added to her storage field. The Memorys’ eyes are barred shut so they are unable to fill their head space with their own visual memories. The post-human is protected from any danger, physical exertion, or mental overload, but science still has not advanced enough to grant her immortality. After 200 blissful, immobile years, she dies of old age. It is the year 2472 and her memory field is shut down, but she is not the only one perishing on this day. Hundreds, thousands of Memory workers have been connected to her for centuries and are now incapable of separating her memories from theirs. The post-human and her Memorys are linked by body and mind; when she dies, they are unable to live without her. As she views her last visual, the connections between her and the Memorys break and they all breathe their last breath. However, all is not over for the storage field as a young post-human with its head brimming with memories is waiting next in line.
Initial developments in Google Sketchup.
Made with Google Tilt Brush, Google Sketchup, and Procreate.
