MOD. (Museum of Discovery) at the University of South Australia has launched its annual exhibition for 2025, inviting the community to rethink the concept of time. Officially opening on Tuesday January 14th, the exhibition FOREVER encourages reflection on how time is not just a linear progression, but a complex web connecting the past, present, and future. The exhibition also probes the connections between memory, mortality, and how we understand death itself.
FOREVER challenges perceptions of time through immersive and interactive installations. Visitors can engage with AI-powered digital avatars (MetaHumans), ponder the vastness of the universe with Gavin Wanganeen’s kinetic sculpture, experience the emotional power of a databank of scents, and navigate through a reflective infinity well. These thought-provoking experiences are designed to expand visitors’ understanding of time, memory, and the future.
“With FOREVER, we wanted to explore perceptions of time to expand our thinking about the future,” Acting Director of MOD., Dr Lisa Bailey says. “Being able to take a different perspective of time is a useful skill that helps us think about complex problems that occur over long timescales.”
The exhibition brings together expertise from over 30 researchers across disciplines like neuroscience, sociology, anthropology, exercise science, and physics from both UniSA and the University of Adelaide. These collaborations have shaped the immersive experiences, offering visitors fresh ways to think about ageing, memory, and time.
One of the amazing features of the exhibition is a unique interaction with AI. Guests will step into a speculative future and engage in unscripted conversations with an AI character. This character, recruiting for jobs in ‘death tech’, offers positions like ‘consciousness-uploading specialist’ and ‘cryogenics technician’, inviting visitors to explore the ethical, emotional, and societal implications of technologies that might extend or transform life after death. The conversations are personalised based on each visitor’s input, making every interaction unique.
“These immersive, unscripted conversations with AI interviewers adapt dynamically to each visitor, using their input to shape the direction of the dialogue,” Exhibition Lead, Claudia von der Borch says. “The result is highly personalised experiences that challenge participants to explore the ethical, emotional and societal implications of technologies that could extend or transform life beyond death.’’
FOREVER will run until November 21st at MOD., which is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free, making it accessible to all. The exhibition, while open to visitors of all ages, is particularly aimed at youth aged 15 to 25.
For more information on the FOREVER exhibition, visit the MOD. website.
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