14 January 2025
The new MOD. annual exhibition launches this month, inviting visitors to reconsider the concept of time. Is it truly linear or are the past, present and future more connected than we realise? How do our memories shape these connections? As we reflect on time, we rarely pause to ask – what defines death?
The new thought-provoking exhibition FOREVER opens at MOD. at the University of South Australia on Tuesday 14 January. Adelaide’s future-focussed museum is open to visitors of all ages, though its exhibitions are aimed at youths in the 15 to 25 age bracket.
Visitors will explore the blurred lines of the concept of time through immersive and interactive experiences – talking to AI-powered digital avatars (MetaHumans), contemplating the universe through artist Gavin Wanganeen's kinetic sculpture, evoking memories through a databank of scents and moving through a reflective infinity well.
“With FOREVER, we wanted to explore perceptions of time to expand our thinking about the future,” says Acting Director of MOD., Dr Lisa Bailey. “Being able to take a different perspective of time is a useful skill that helps us think about complex problems that occur over long timescales.”
The exhibition draws on expertise from over 30 researchers and experts in neuroscience, exercise science, sociology, anthropology and physics at UniSA as well as the University of Adelaide to create experiences that challenge our relationship with time, memory and aging.
In one exhibit, visitors will experience AI like never before. By stepping into a speculative future, visitors will meet and interact with an AI character who is recruiting employees for future jobs in ‘death tech’, with roles such as a ‘consciousness-uploading specialist’ or ‘cryogenics technician’.
Exhibition Lead, Claudia von der Borch says, “These immersive, unscripted conversations with AI interviewers adapt dynamically to each visitor, using their input to shape the direction of the dialogue. The result is highly personalised experiences that challenge participants to explore the ethical, emotional and societal implications of technologies that could extend or transform life beyond death.’’
FOREVER is open from 14 January to 21 November. MOD. is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10am to 5pm.
For more information about FOREVER, visit the website.
MOD. is free to visit.
Media contact: Erika Barrett (she/her): Engagement Officer, MOD., UniSA M: 0423 928 774 E: Erika.Barrett@unisa.edu.au
