The Aesthetics of Listening: Material-Discursive Exploration of Verbatim Testimony and Augmented Reality

Morrison, John and Stewart, Fiona (2024) The Aesthetics of Listening: Material-Discursive Exploration of Verbatim Testimony and Augmented Reality. In: P/References of Design. Cumulus conference proceedings series, 1 . Cumulus Association, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, Budapest, pp. 747-763. ISBN 978-952-7549-02-5

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Abstract

This paper introduces a novel approach combining augmented reality (AR) and verbatim testimony to create sensory engagements with data as interactive digital artefacts. The project aims to supplement existing research by communicating how aspects of care feel from the perspective of young people with experience in the UK care system. Through a posthumanist lens, we explore trauma-sensitive considerations and material-discursive aspects of meaning-making. The project emerged from a collaboration with The Verbatim Formula, a participatory arts initiative. During playful workshops, care-experienced young people and theatre practitioners co-created AR artefacts using verbatim theatre and generative design techniques. These artefacts, comprising verbatim testimonies and physical expressions of lived experiences, were presented to policymakers at the Department for Education in London. Leveraging feminist scholarship, the study engages with new materialist concepts to analyse human-technology data interactions during the live performance. The paper foregrounds aesthetic and ethical considerations, examining the material discursive dimensions of audience co-performativity with the AR artefacts. The insights contribute to dialogues on redefining data boundaries and conceptions of value in generative design research. The AR artefacts are spotlighted as active agents in creating and disseminating knowledge, offering a new trajectory for understanding and engaging with data and values. This approach positions listening and co-performativity as a mode of care and a sensory practice of knowing, challenging conventional perceptions of data and technology towards humanising policy and care services.

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