[ISEA2024] Paper: Syna Nan Chen, Patricia Flanagan & Haider Ali Akmal — Escaping Human Experience: An Entry into Otherness Through Wearable Technology

Abstract

Keywords:
Wearable technology, Embodying technology, Body interfaces, Non-human experience, Human-technology interface, Human experience, Provocative embodiment

This paper presents an argument for observing non-human perspectives for the design of wearable technology through a form of speculative post-human transcendence. The paper proposes Provocative Embodiment, a more-than-human design approach that supports the wearer in imagining the inner experience of non-human entities by intentionally creating and embodying conflicts between human and non-human perceptions. Articulated as a theoretical framework for understanding non-human perceptions and experiences by combining non-anthropocentric theory and speculative design, an argument is presented for the possibility of humans observing non-human realities through this framework and an accompanied workshop of design activities. The paper concludes with a detailed explanation of the three principles of Provocative Embodiment providing concrete guidance on how designers may put them into practice. By contributing a new theoretical and practical framework that attempts to expand the boundaries of human perception beyond the traditional human-centred perspective, this research provides us with new lenses and tools for understanding and exploring the reality of the non-human entities that surround us.

  • Syna Nan Chen, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Patricia Flanagan, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Haider Ali Akmal, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia