Hedonism Launches at MOD.
MOD. (Museum of Discovery) is a futuristic-style museum situated in Adelaide’s City West. Created by UniSA, the museum represents an interactive and thought-provoking experience. With the application of academic research done in a manner that is easily interpretable to the general public, MOD. encourages its visitors to think critically about yourself and the world we live in.
Its third exhibition, Hedonism, is themed around the theory of pleasure. The launch of Hedonism, on the 24th of May, also coincided with the one year anniversary of MOD. On the launch night party, guests and the general public were treated to a chocolate fountain, filled with a table of sweets to indulge over.
Integrating philosophy, psychology, biology, the arts, and AI, Hedonism explores the aspects of consent, work and life satisfaction in the digital age, self-affirmation and acceptance, and pleasure. Although you probably won’t find a definitive answer during the exhibition, the overarching question that Hedonism asks is, why aren’t some of the behaviours that we engage in immediately pleasurable? As you explore each exhibit however, you will discover some of the reasoning behind the question that Hedonism poses. Below, you will find a summary and personal thoughts about some of the exhibits.
Biophilic Fantasies, commissioned by Ani Liu, features a gallery of artificial plants that you can walk through. This exhibit asks us whether nature needs to be natural, in order for it to be effective. Indeed, the visual nature of plants did contribute to a positive mood from my perspective, but it left me wondering why an entity of nature has become quite artificial in recent times. This view was also shared by others that I interacted with during the launch.
Moving on to Pleasure Arcade 5000, you will find three booths relating to compliments, succeeding, and consent. Each of the booths presents an intimate experience, where you will learn to love and self-indulge in your qualities. Also in this exhibit, you will find ‘QueerZone’ by Danny Jarratt, VR, and an interactive station, where you can enter your pleasure principles into an algorithm to see if it knows your true pleasures.
Arguably the most visually-appealing part of the exhibition, F.A.B.L.E. is an interactive and self-guided exhibit that covers the topic of consent in an intergalactic context. Featuring an alien-like atmosphere, visitors can download the associated app for this exhibit, in order to get the full experience of F.A.B.L.E.
Finishing off with Training Ground, this exhibit embodies the overarching question posed in Hedonism. Most of us are aware that exercise produces various mental and physical health benefits, but it is hardly ever felt immediately. The objective in Training Ground is to make Cascade explode, which is achieved by progressing through the levels of exercise that the program has set. Completing this challenge with friends appeared to be best way to succeed in Training Ground.
Hedonism is now open to all, and it’s on until the end of November. A kind thank you to Lucie at MOD. for having me at the launch.
When: May - November 2019
Cost: Free
MOD. - Hedonism
