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Designs for an Over-populated Planet, No.1: Foragers – fibreglass models, video, large-scale photographs and written vignettes

Dunne (with Raby) uses design to pose ‘what if’ questions about emerging technologies in order to explore their impacts on our everyday lives. Foragers applied this method to debate about projected human food needs in 2050. It was the outcome of a commission by Design Indaba as part of Protofarm 2050 for the 2009 ICSID World Design Congress, Singapore, and developed as part of a commission for the 2010 Saint-Étienne International Design Biennale.

Dunne speculated that we might use technology to modify human digestive systems to exist within the limits of the environment rather than modifying the environment to meet our ever-expanding needs. He researched existing social, cultural and technological trends, surveyed literature, researched design and art projects in related areas, developed design proposals through an experimental and iterative process using a combination of sketches, physical mock-ups, computer-generated models and rapid prototypes, before working with a fibreglass specialist to fabricate the final objects. Dunne worked with a writer and photographer to develop short stories and photographic scenarios. The final outcomes were a two-minute video, four fibreglass models, seven large-scale photographs and six written vignettes.

The work provided new insights into the application of speculative design to complex issues, and contributed new ideas to debates about the future of farming and food production by broadening imaginative scope. It combined ideas from usually unrelated fields, including DIY hacking culture, synthetic biology and foraging.

The Museum of Modern Art, New York commissioned a set of Foragers for its permanent collection, and exhibited these from March 2012 to January 2013. The project was also shown at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (2011–12) and Grand-Hornu, Brussels (2012–13). Dunne discussed Foragers at conferences including Interaction 12, Dublin (2012), and in lectures to the Design Academy Eindhoven (2012), Strelka Institute (2011), and Adidas, Nuremburg (2011).