What if we could view a future which has already happened? ‘Working Backwards’ features print ephemera ‘discovered’ from the future and presented for public viewing. Just as contemporary archaeologists sift through historic refuse for insights on culture and behaviour, this retrospective view of a speculative future aims to challenge audience perception about our preferable, probable, or problematic trajectories— and the actions required to achieve or avoid them.
Presented in the past tense, this exhibition consists of posters and packaging from the 2030s through the 2120s. Presented as a historical museum display, large-scale digital prints featuring “excavated” print materials are paired with “historical images”, small ephemera, and wall statements explaining their context and significance. Addressing contemporary concerns of climate change, equality, and public health across North America, these discursive design works engage with recognizable ephemera recontextualized through future uses, and aim to convey the clarity of hindsight—prompting an earnest and urgent conversation about the impact of our present actions on future events. What will our future selves require, use, and discard? What stories might these objects and images tell us about who we are—or who we want to be? Just as science fiction has historically influenced the futures of the past, these speculative designs seek to make visible what we otherwise might deem impossible.
Participants
Mia Cinelli (artist/designer), Daniels Spectrum (Dayne Jespersen, Manager, Community Services & Hannah Berney, Coordinator, Community Services —ArtHubs Toronto Inc.)Acknowledgements
Accessibility
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