INSTALLATION

Are we alone?

Kalyani Tupkary, Rucha Joshi, Jazeela Basheer, Priyam Vadaliya, Neha Rao

Curated by Akshay Roongta
Venue: Luis Gomes Garden
Root Thematic: Physics of Space
Audience: Open to All

‘Are We Alone’ is a three part audio-visual installation questioning the existence of intelligent life and extraterrestrial civilisations in outer space. In the first part, you’re in a dark room with an audio narrative transporting you into the recesses of the Universe, explaining Fermi’s Paradox and Drake’s Equation in a simple way to arrive at a frame for the question: Are We Alone? In the second part, you explore a series of questions that humans have asked concerning this topic? Finally, you give your opinion on if you are alone in a participatory infographic. Before entering the installation, you’re prompted to pick a white sticker to indicate if you think we are alone, and a black one if you think we are not alone. In the third part, you place your sticker. Have your thoughts changed after going through the first two parts?

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Awareness, Knowledge, Understanding
  • Come up to speed on current knowledge and issues with search for extraterrestrial life
  • Understand Fermi’s paradox and Drake’s equation and how they are applied
Inspiration, Enjoyment, Creativity
  • Experience the joy of lying down and listening to a narrative about the universe
  • Feel excited about distant future hypotheticals: interstellar travel, alien communication, etc.
21st Century Skills
  • Reflect on our presence in the Universe and question the presence of extraterrestrial life
  • Reflect on many questions like ‘What are the costs and benefits of space exploration and human spaceflight’?
Perception, Attitudes, Values, Progression
  • Develop their own understanding and thoughts around extraterrestrial life
  • Question the philosophical implications of discovery of alien life

Suitable for school groups!

Relevance to curriculum: Exposure to space science and current scientific knowledge

Guiding facilitator questions:
Do you think there is life on other planets in the Universe?
Why do you think we have not been able to contact them or vice versa?
What do you think are the challenges we face in terms of interstellar communication / travel?

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Jazeela Basheer

Jazeela Basheer graduated from NID with a degree in Exhibition and Spatial Design. Her interests lie mostly in art and theater and she has worked with various collectives in the same field. She is also a part time photographer and her photographs have been exhibited in the Delhi Press Club and featured in several magazines.

Priyam Vadaliya

Priyam Vadaliya is a systems thinker, designer and a passionate social innovator. She earned her bachelors degree in Product Design from National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, India. Since her graduation, she has been freelancing and applying her expertise in design thinking and systems design to a variety of projects. She has gathered learning experiences through traveling and participating in various fellowship programs such as the design fellowship from the Unschool of Disruptive Design at Berlin and the Design Now Summer school at Politechnico di Milano. She believes in multidisciplinary collaborations and is excited by the mutation of design process in different contexts. Her growing interests involve data visualization and the intersection of public administration and design thinking.

Rucha Joshi

Rucha Joshi has a very different outlook towards Product Design. She is interested in human centric design, system-mapping and-analysis and speculative design. In the past she has worked with Propelland, a studio in San Francisco as well as various product
design studios within the country. She now works with Zensar Technologies, Pune.

Neha Rao

Neha Rao is a Sustainable Textile Design. She currently works as a freelancer on an exciting range of projects from sustainable product development, textile designing, design teaching, to developing unique colorants from the natural resources. She has a master’s degree from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London,and a bachelors degree from NID, Ahmedabad, India. She has gained international experience while working for various textile companies and designers.

Kalyani Tupkary

Kalyani Tupkary holds a degree in Product Design and now works at Honeywell Ltd. Being a very hands on person, she enjoys working with traditional artisans and their crafts. In the past she has worked with Echostream, a Sikkim based multidisciplinary studio. Kalyani’s work which has a unique, analog approach, and has been featured at various forums.

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