Ergonomic Futures is a multi-part project that asks questions about contemporary “fitness” through the lens of speculative evolution. The work comes out of Tyler Coburn’s interviews with paleoanthropologists, ergonomists, evolutionary biologists, and genetic engineers. To each he has asked: What are future scenarios for imagining new types of human bodies, and how might this thought experiment reframe conversations about body normativity in the present day?
Practically, Ergonomic Futures project takes two forms. First, Coburn and New York architects Bureau V have designed functional, ergonomic seats for different future bodies. The first iterations of these seats are currently on view in the 11th Gwangju Biennale, and in the exhibition Faisons de l’inconnu un allié (Joining Forces with the Unknown) organized by Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette—after which the seats will find long-term use in art and natural history museums in Seoul and Paris. As Ergonomic Futures is an open-ended project, other seats may appear in the future.
Second, Coburn has collaborated with designers Luke Gould and Afonso Martins on a website of short stories meant to evolve over the years. New stories may appear, and existing stories may be edited or deleted. A given story can have one or several versions that continue to change in quantity over time. For *Duuu, Coburn has selected three stories to read.
1 : Seat - 02:53
2 : Telepath - 04:34
3 : Baby - 03:17
Une émission réalisée le 12 octobre 2016 depuis le studio installé au 16 rue Debelleyme, Paris 3e, dans le cadre de la programmation radiophonique de *Duuu en écho à l’exposition ‘Faisons de l’Inconnu un allié’ organisée par Lafayette Anticipation (11-23 octobre 2016).
Un cycle proposé par l’équipe de *Duuu : Loraine Baud, Simon Nicaise & Simon Ripoll-Hurier
avec la complicité de Marie Limoujoux, Pauline Lecerf et Margaux Luchet.