⁽³⁾Micromort

Micromort is the result of the the Final Synthesis course, a six-month long laborarotary focused on Speculative Design. The topic of that year was the death, and the aim was to build a communicative machine to make people reflect about one of its dimension. The dimension we picked was the economic one. Thus Micromort was born: a new currency whose value represents the price of death in every nation worldwide, demonstrating that death holds a social value closely linked to nationality and economic and humanitarian conditions of each nation. The result is a Death Stock Exchange set in a scenario where death becomes a source of income to invest in, aiming to provoke viewers to reflect on the theme. Death is always a tragedy, whether it affects 100 people or 300,000. More developed countries cannot afford to lose interest in current humanitarian crises, solely focusing on events that personally affected them 5, 10, or 20 years ago.

→ micromort.org

The interactive installation "The Stock Exchange Experience" consists of 16 screens, a touch-screen monitor and 8 metres in length of LED panels, displaying more than 21,000 facts about deaths and disasters in every country in the world from 2000 to 2017.

The brochure is divided into three different sections: the first tab provides general information about the project, including the business card and the coin; the second tab focuses on the installation details, while the third tab explains the algorithm behind it.

The 17th screen is a touch monitor positioned on the fifth side, enabling intimate and personal interaction through a 3D globe program that presents Micromort data. It allows users to explore and navigate mortality values for each nation, including historical variations, using this interactive interface.

As part of The Lost Graduation Show 2021, Micromort stands out as a captivating exhibit, inviting visitors to contemplate the intricate social value of death. Amidst the showcase of 170 projects by emerging designers from around the globe, Micromort sparks conversations on speculative design and its implications.

The Bachelor's Thesis investigates the social value of Micromort, examining its connections to speculative design, identity, and creative coding. It explores the relationship between Micromort, nationality, economic conditions, and humanitarian factors. Additionally, the thesis highlights the relevance of Micromort in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically by comparing the cost of death in troubled nations with the expenses associated with Covid-19 protection and tracking devices.