Abstract
I would like you to imagine a future world where octopus, tired of waiting for humans to gain the intellect to effectively communicate with other species of animals, have developed a language simple enough for humans to recognise and understand, a form of mental telepathy. What would it be like to have a conversation with an octopus and what would they want to know? What if, assisted by human technology, they were able to search the internet? What if they Googled the word ‘octopus’? How would we rationally explain many of the search results? What if some of these search results led directly to Amazon.com. In my nightmares this is how I imagine the conversation might go.
Biography
Born in Perth Western Australia, Mike Singe received a Bachelor of Fine Art from Curtin University in 1990 and established a profile within the Perth art community before moving to Tasmania in 2009. His work is represented in major institutions including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Murdoch University, Curtin University and the Kerry Stokes Collection. In 2009 he was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award to undertake a Master of Fine Arts at the Tasmanian School of Art. The focus of this research, completed in 2011, into the shifting human behaviour and cultural systems in response to the climate change debate continues to inform his practice. Singe’s recent work expands upon this research through a focus on air as a material for investigation, particularly air in relation to human (animal) respiration.