COCKROACH WORKSHOP

In the one day workshop we looked at life from a different

viewpoint. The idea was to explore disaster scenarios and

since Cockroaches are the most likely creatures to survive,

it’s makes sense to think like one.

To our group we decided to concentrate on their senses.

We looked at how they moved using smell, sight, sound & their

preferred environments. It’s a commonly known fact that

if you loose one of your senses another becomes enhanced

or improved. Again, we know that once you loose your

sight or are plunged into darkness you usually take smaller

steps and without thinking your instinct is to raise your

hands and use them to feel your way around. Taking these

facts into consideration we set to work.

Each team member worked on a set of eyewear that altered

your vision and reduced your sense of the known environment.

I noticed that when you walk towards a light source and

it hits the back of your retina you become unstable. I also

researched the eyes ability to distinguish colour and found

that we are very good at recognising various green objects.

Yet not so able to seperate a range of reds. I assume this

is because there are many greens in nature and reds are

primarily a warning colour. With this I put red gels inside the

eyewear and a layer of bubble wrap to break down the

visabilty to a greater degree.

Once placed into a confined area and listening to white

noise via a set of head phones the sensation was quite

effective. You lost sense of scale and became disorientated.

The lose of ambient room noise helped this sensation, and

whilst the white noise was unpleasant it did simulate the

electrical noise that cockroaches that live under appliances

would possibly experience.

With clear purpose and effective teamwork we had an enjoyable

workshop that really made the concept of group work attractive.

Paul Postle