Barcowd
A satirical art installation
Where should automation in food production end? Barcowd – a satirical art installation – shows viewers a world where no one stopped to ask this very question. Over the last decade, the dairy industry has become increasingly reliant on robotic technologies to meet high demand and reduce cost of production. From metal milkers to birth-sensing collars, much work traditionally performed by a human farmer has been replaced or mediated by technology. Many of these changes going widely unnoticed by the average consumer.
Imagine innovation in this field was to reach a point where little or no work was requied by a farmer. By forecasting the future of such a place and giving viewers a front row seat to that future, we asked them to consider at what cost are we willing to accept automation?
Barwod was a joint collaboration between myself, Rachel Skelly, Damien McClean, Luc Baardman as part of a summative project for Trinity College Dublin’s Idea Translaton Lab. It was presented in April 2016 for the student showcase in Science Gallery Dublin.
Exhibition poster design. Graphics by me.
The diorama was constructed using many kinds of found material, asking the viewer to make a connection between currently produced materials and future ones.
Small plaques around the diorama were a mix of the described the technologies used in the farms, and personal descriptions of local Irish dairy farmers. My interspersing both narratives, we hoped to push the viewer to considering the human impact of technology.
Prototyping and world building played a large role in the creation process.
