Role of future networks within emerging networks
To understand an emergent future network, it is important to have an understanding of what a future network means. A future network is information that varies from humans to technology that we have created, that us shaped the world we live in. By information producing technologies and information producing practices, things such as the internet and technologies presence as a whole as become ever more apparent in todays society. Where due to these future networks becoming more evident in daily lives we can now see its future trajectory starting to emerge.
Emergent future networks
As mentioned above, emergent future networks involves the process of how technology and information is becoming increasingly more present. Where instead of looking and speculation on the future trajectory of these networks it looks at the ones that are evolving around us currently. There are currently numerous emerging networks forming, but I will specifically be looking at the networks of Solarpunk and VanLife. These networks hold slight differences but are grouped together due to its shared alternative vision that due to social, economic and political crisis, it is leading people to reconsider typical modern living conventions that focus more on environmentalism and sustainability.
What is VanLife?
VanLife, is an alternative lifestyle adapted by people looking to live basic, environmental orientated lifestyle, the extent to which one choose to live by these principles vary depending on the individual. This old practise has made a huge comeback with millennials due to the increasing emergence of technology and information in societies daily life. This network has comeback as a method to minimise the rapid trajectory of technology and information and opted for a lifestyle that is more modest and technology free to disconnect from these networks.
VanLife photography
With photography being a very large passion of mine, I often enjoy looking at how concepts can be explored and demonstrated through this visual medium. Because of this passion I have explored VanLife through its imagery and how it uses this to showcase the emergent network of modest, limited technology and environmentally orientated living.
Through some research of this topic, I found a really informative article by website Shutterstock that provides a guide to VanLife lifestyle and photography from Australian photographer Charlie Blacker. In this article he explains the beauty of photographing VanLife is that it is basically documenting your lifestyle. He also notes that Australia is one of the best landscapes to photograph as a lot of the destinations that the society within this community tend to seek are remote and often naturalistic locations. Stating that the reason for this, is for his imagery to showcase the disconnection that this genre holds for the current trajectory of technology and societies fast paced environment.
By looking at the photography surrounding the VanLife movement, I feel it provides people and myself the ability to envision a lifestyle for ourselves that will not have to be so centred around technologies and urban living.
Feeling inspired by the article and Blacker’s images I decided to put a collage together off all my VanLife inspired images, I have attached this via the twitter link below.
What is Solarpunk?
Solarpunk is a sub-genre and art movement that envisions how the future might look if humanity succeed in solving major contemporary challenges with an emphasis on sustainable human impact on the environment, addressing climate change and pollution. This sub-genre is largely a contrast to the cyberpunk genre and focuses on an emerging network that uses technology within create a more eco-friendly society.
Graphic Design in Solarpunk
Artists often hold the power to create and visually showcase new ways of living within the world. It is for this reason that I hold such a large passion for graphic design and its ability to express ideas and concepts without any literacy. This is why I found exploring solarpunk through graphic design so interesting as it provides people with the opportunity to see a society that could not have imaged without some form of visual assists.
Majority of graphic design aimed within the sub-genre puts forward visual concepts of renewable energy powered by features or structures that challenges us to alter our social habits.
These designs can be seen through the work of artists Dustin Jacobs, where he illustrates an emerging futurism to people of a society that can live functionally off a change that is not impossible or dysfunctional.
Due to Dustins work being so useful in envision this concept, I posted it on my twitter and have linked it below.
Importance of VanLife and Solarpunk to speculative future networks
Looking at emerging visual networks visually allows people to picture an altered society then what is currently available and provide them the chance to see patterns and directions of the world we could chose to live in.
References
- Shutterstock, 2021. Van-Life photographer Charlie Blarker. (Accessed 20th September 2022)
- Hamilton, J., 2017. Explainer: ‘solarpunk’, or how to be an optimistic radical. (Accessed 20th September 2022)
highfieldonline.photo.blog 