We asked a UniSA student to review MOD.’s new exhibition

By Jenna Lioulios

COMMUNITY UniSA journalism student Jenna Lioulios touring MOD.’s Hedonism exhibition.

A new exhibition has opened at Australia's leading future-focused museum, MOD.. Hedonism prompts visitors to explore things you can do to excess that make you feel good for a lifetime, not just for a weekend. You get to surround yourself with plants, look at social media and social connection, experience exercise in a fun way and go to space to learn how to navigate consent in relationships.

We asked final-year UniSA journalism student Jenna Lioulios to explore Hedonism and capture her thoughts.

Name: Jenna Lioulios

Age: 23

Studying: Bachelor of Journalism and Professional Writing

Interests: True crime and human nature

Hobbies: Reading, writing, going to the gym and spending time with family and friends

Career aspirations: Anything involving writing, marketing, communications or one day starting my own business

First impressions

As I entered MOD., my attention was immediately grabbed by the glowing sphere hanging from the ceiling – The Hedonometer. The sight of it left me wanting more, I had to know why it was there and why it was changing colour. It looked like a beautiful solar system, the one big glowing planet surrounded by tinier ones. It was great that the exhibition started as soon as you entered the building. Even the people drinking coffee in the café were able to enjoy some of the exhibition’s beauty.

Social media is so ingrained in everyday life, one might assume it would make people happy. Through a study of Twitter, the Hedonometer measures happiness based on published tweets. It was interesting to see that besides days like Christmas and New Year’s Eve, a lot of people post more about misery. It was interactive, and I was able to choose whether the word made me feel happy or sad. Once I slid the Hedonometer to either side of the scale I watched as the sphere and the word changed colour based on my decision. It really made me think about the types of content people put into the world affect our perceptions.

Connect For

Connect For is located across from the Hedonometer and is all about social connection: in the workplace, with friends and the benefits of communicating in your own language. I was able to listen to different words being spoken in the Barngarla language. Next stop was the coffee bean graph where you answer a question by pouring a mug of coffee beans into a tube. The questions relate to the workplace – I was happy to see that most people were pleased in the place they spent most of their days. Station three was a wall of paper cups where people write their opinions on what a great working environment should be – it’s an inspiring collaboration that’s great to read. My favourite part is that anyone can take part in the exhibition and it really feels like a piece that brings people together.

Symbiosville

Symbiosville is a virtual game where you choose a character and follow along in their bacterial journey through life. While I got to know my tiny resident, I also learned how to keep them happy and more about how I can make my own body happier. It explores something that very few people may know about - the billions of microscopic organisms living on you and in you, also known as your microbiome. It showed me that it’s not only important to that care of my own health but to consider the people around me.

Biophilic Fantasies

I loved walking into Biophilic Fantasies which explores a mixture of real and fake nature. It was designed to explore the effects that real and fake nature has on someone’s emotional state. Sitting among both, it was hard to tell the difference. When you finally stop and smell the roses (literally), it was very relaxing and had a very positive affect on my emotional state. I would definitely come here again to just sit and enjoy the moment.

Parnatti

The Parnatti wall comes to life with a touch of your hand. This is an interactive touchscreen story led by Senior Kaurna Custodian of ceremony and artist, Karl ‘Winda’ Telfer. It was lovely learning all about the Kaurna season of Parnatti which is from April to June. It was like I was having a peak into another world as the screen came to life.

F.A.B.L.E

This exhibition stands for the federated association of believers, leaders and explorers, which comes to life through an app. Anyone who loves video games will love this – you take on an alien mission to follow protocol and successfully learn about consent and sexual relationships. It was a great way to explore such a sensitive topic.

Pleasure Arcade 5000

The Pleasure Arcade 5000 was my favourite room as it had a reward booth for common needs. My favourite was the compliment booth which everyone should try. At the press of a button someone gives you a compliment. There were countless other sections to enjoy like the NaturePods, QueerZone and Magic Mountain. The room is visually pleasing …. I could have stayed there all day without getting bored.

Training Ground

How do you make exercise fun? MOD. has an interesting take: combine it with a video game. You move around in a square to gain points and move up a level. This took my mind from the physical aspect of exercise and turned it into a game. It was a type of exercise that I wouldn’t mind doing every day. The exhibition has two training grounds, so can become a competition against friends. I will be coming back for sure.

Overall, I loved the Hedonism exhibition. I know I will go again – and reckon you should too.

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