Upgrade. Perspectives on corporeal design.

In our collective search for self-realisation and improvement, societies around the globe discuss the pro’s and con’s of altering, of re-designing body parts through genetic or medical interventions and they further engage in experimenting with new technologies and procedures supported by an expanding industry. In 2010 it is possible to state, that for parts of society the human body has become a luxury item and a commodity to be optimised and aestheticised with the help of surgeons, psychologists and personal advisors. Are these professional communities engaging in Art or Design practices? What qualifies a Corporal Designer? Participants will discuss and map a possible “corporal design” practice and research that assesses such relevant cultural, social and political metamorphosis happening skin deep. The workshop aims to raise a debate on new directions of social rituals, alternative socio- political scenarios and technological departures, while encouraging the development of self- reflective practice. The workshop considers the role of the designer as author, the body as a site layered with meaning and emotion and design as a critical, transformative and speculative tool. Within this setting participants will explore issues of identity, body images and different narratives around the body, responding to factual, fictional and ethical dimensions of such phenomena.