Paradise Tossed (1993)

This work is about the seductive subject of technological utopia and the archetypes of Architecture, Domestic technology, Media and Transport this century. Paradise Tossed, is of course a word-play on Milton’s famous book, “Paradise Lost” as well as an ironic comment on the never-ending mixed up search for more new design.

I was interested in exploring closely the tenuous relationship between design and desire. For example which comes first design or desire? The seduction of 3d Animation pulls into question how much of our desire is influenced by the media who value presentation of products as a very commercial enterprise or how much of archetypal design we see comes from the hearts of the people.

In Paradise Tossed viewers can enter Dream homes from the history of Design and when selection occurs animation’s with different styles unfold accordingly. Another section provides a set of choices within the technological terrain where domestic technology is used as a metaphor for the machine human interface and the changing nature of women’s workplaces. Paradise Tossed can be both a luxury and an escape.

By using sophisticated 3D animated graphics as a metaphor, as well as designing the look of the interface to represent and extend the content, another journey in time-travel was achieved, which carried the audience through metaphorical comparisons. The viewers are visually helped through the interactive by statements, hands making gestures that reflect social change, colors which have political connotations, relevant music and the relationship of all these things, either to the viewers own precious memories or to histories they have heard about.