Enhanced
Enhanced was a public engagement project that explored the scientific research and methods behind our superhuman potential. How far we are willing to go in the name of progress in our never-ending pursuit of finding a better tomorrow today?
Enhanced was an immersive experience exploring the science and the ethics of human enhancement. In collaboration with Einsteins Garden and scientists from Cardiff University we created a fictional futuristic company ‘Hybrid Industries’ at The Greenman Festival and Machynlleth Comedy Festival as a way to engage the public with this ethical debate. Over the three days at the festival the company launched ‘out of this world’ products and gave consultations to their visitors. Experts in neurostimulation, bioluminescence and genetic engineering from Cardiff University presented the real science behind the controversial claims they made.
We used this invisible theatre method to elicit real emotions and reactions from the passing festival goers, allowing them to express their opinions freely:
“It brought home to me, you have to dig a little bit deeper to find out more… it made me think”.
“Would there become classes of people who have enhanced body parts or functionality but other groups of people can’t because they don’t have the money?”
These reactions sparked conversations that could be led by the scientists, discussing the real life research and moral implications of a world where science is becoming closer to fiction than we would like to think.
Enhanced was commissioned by Einsteins Garden in collaboration with scientists from Cardiff University and The Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
