Carried out in close collaboration with scientists, the aim of Augmented Nature was to develop the next generation of high-tech biotags: devices capable of augmenting the capacities of endangered species. These active solutions allow so-called "Ecosystem Engineer" species, such as the humpback whale and the peccary, to reclaim their own habitats. In exploring the potential of technological interventions to affect change in the environment, Augmented Nature considers the ethics of biodiversity preservation and the intricate entanglement between humans and non-humans.
About the presenters
Arthur Gouillart is an artist and designer based in London. In 2018, he graduated from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College with an MA/MSC in Innovation Design Engineering, following an MEng in France. As a creative technologist and speculative designer, he explores the intersection of meaningful emotions and complex systems. By making the unseen tangible through materialisation and inverting hierarchies of value, his work questions existing perspectives and proposes new ones. Recent exhibitions include the London Design Biennale (2021); Hong Kong Design Week, Haw Par (2020); 'Intimacy', Science Gallery, Dublin (2019); 'Un_becoming', Somos Berlin (2018); Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2017). He is currently working on two web-based artworks as part of the "New School Policy and Design for Outer Space'" at the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2021). Website here:
Mick Geerits is a design technologist with a keen interest in emergent systems, algorithmic design and digital manufacturing. He is co-founder of Abnormal Design, a UK based generative product design studio, which creates designs using digital processes that mimic nature. He currently also works as a Technical Artist focusing on growth algorithms and procedural asset generation for one of the Xbox Studios. Mick holds a BSc in Industrial Design from the Technical University Eindhoven and in 2018 graduated from the MSc and MA Innovation Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. Website:
The event is hosted by the Bionic Natures Collaboratory of the Oslo School of Environmental Humanities.