Student showcase

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Welcome to our student showcase! Here we house temporary exhibitions of student artefacts of the future. Each exhibition is focused on a different theme. Check in regularly to view new exhibitions! Old exhibitions will be stored at the bottom of the page.

Phoning It In (February 2025)

Mobile phones have drastically changed our lives over the past 50 years. What will they be like 50 years in the future? Will phones of today be completely out-of-date, discarded like old-fashioned phone booths? Will we have learnt to deal more responsibly with the waste created by phones?Can apps help us to manage our time online? These artefacts were created by primary and secondary students working on the Artefacts of the Future project in 2024.

The Phone Booth

Make a call to our past. A time where these were everywhere, lining the streets of London. However, like most ‘out of date’ things, phone booths will be nothing but a memory in the next 100 years.

My artefact was created with the idea to remind people that technology is ever-changing and growing. There is always a next level to reach and developers will keep going no matter what it may do to the world. If something is no longer of use it will be discarded.

Discarded and Replaced

My artefact explores the concept of how polluted our world is. I chose to display an array of litter on an old phone. I thought it represented the waste our society produces and what materials end up in our ecosystems as litter or in landfills.

In our society, items, products and materials are mostly seen as disposable, once an object has served its purpose it is discarded and replaced. Which I wanted to be symbolised in my artefact. When the term ‘environment’ is mentioned, I associate the word with pollution, litter, and the drastic changes to the earth’s ecosystems. As a society we need to live more sustainably, where we reuse and recycle more products. The future is extremely unpredictable, if we keep living an un-clean and non-sustainable lifestyle the consequences could be detrimental. Overall, I hope my final artefact depicts the waste our society produces which is having a harmful and damaging effect on our world.

Threat of the Future

Using the prompt of ‘Artefacts of the future’ I was inspired to create something that showcased most aspects of our world, the land of the factories that turns the world into a waste land, the parts that we still have, and what we are polluting.

I used real phones that were turned fake, and then painted them to show the difference, but also what we hide behind, we hide the toxic parts with pretty trees and the parts we attempt to protect, but human greed still destroys. My artwork shows how human impact creates a wasteland of our beautiful world and the waste ends up in the ocean. I decided to turn the phones into my canvas, something created by humans to show what they turn our world into. I think it was really important to showcase that the parts of nature still intact does not excuse the parts humans have destroyed and polluted. I created it to show almost the process, the waste land of factory, what it destroyed, and then where it ends up.

Time Limit on Devices

We created an app that limits your time online. Someone would set up a timer on the app that will track your time online. When you have used all of your time a dragon mascot will pop up on your screen like what is shown.

The watch is to track your time outside so you can earn more time on your device. The app also provides how much time you have left, what apps you have been on, and how long you have been on those apps.

Glow?

Things like TikTok and Instagram are convincing us to buy/use things that contain lots of plastic through advertising. These platforms are using FOMO to gain more money, followers and likes.

We are destroying our eco-system just to make our skin ‘Glow?’

Amazing Animals (January 2025)

What will animals be like in 2050? How will our relationships with them have changed? Will we only be able to see animals through a drawing? Or will new technologies help us understand their thoughts and opinions? Or will we be capturing cow farts and riding pighorses? These artefacts were created by primary and secondary students working on the Artefacts of the Future project in 2024.

Saving the Animals and so the World

These drawings are to display how if we don’t act now the only way we will be able to see animals is through a drawing.

Rabbit Trap

This farmers’ best friend is sourced sustainably by up-cycled PVC piping, with springs embedded with carbon 19, preventing feral rabbits from destroying farmers’ crops whilst trapping the rabbits so they don’t escape.

Inspired by early European settlement. Example: sheep eating murnong daisy, a main source for Wadawurrung people. Introduced species are still a problem to this day.

Understanding Animals

I made a machine that makes electronic chips that help us understand animals. It’s so we can understand their thoughts and their opinions on what is happening on our planet.

Such as telling us what they’ve seen and experienced to give us more insight into our environmental problems.

Cow Fart Capturer

This object captures a cow’s farts and transports it to a space where it can be cleaned, like a forest. I thought of this idea because I know that cows produce a lot of methane which pollutes the world.

The Pighorse

The Pighorse is an animal that will be your pet and you can ride it like a horse. It is here for your food scraps so it can eat all the food scraps you have.

We should care about the Pighorse so we can have to not throw out your food. The Pighorse should be treated nicely. It should be fed with food scraps and grass. You can have it to ride. We made the Pighorse out of air dry clay then painted it and used paper for the grass and cardboard as the box. By looking closely, maybe you can discover some cracks and different shades of colour.

Packaging Possibilities (December 2024)

As the festive season approaches, we are highlighting artefacts that envision more sustainable packaging possibilities. Perhaps these ideas will help you to celebrate while producing less waste. These artefacts were created by primary and secondary students working on the Artefacts of the Future project in 2024.

Tree Resin Plastic

In my display, the resin from the trees (which also reduces CO2) is carried through pipes to the factory, which produces eco-friendly biodegradable reusable plastic.

Bioplastic

Bioplastics are biodegradable materials that come from renewable sources and can be used to reduce the problem of plastic waste that is suffocating the planet and contaminating the environment.​

Bioplastics can help to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, support sustainability initiatives and allow manufacturers to diversify feedstocks.​ Bioplastic sources can be used for numerous things. Some of these include bioplastic packaging, bioplastic bags, bottles, biodegradable compost bags, disposable cutlery and tableware, etc. The bioplastics materials used in the food packaging industry are good at maintaining quality. Here, I’ve used eggshells, tapioca starch, and vinegar to create a plasticky substance. I looked this recipe up online. They suggested eggshells; obviously they need to be a bit more ground, but I think it’s a calcium in them that bonds together. This is a bioplastic we know about. Maybe someday I’ll end up inventing some new ones.

Plant-based packaging

The artefact that I chose to make was an artefact from today and possibly going to be continued to be used in the future. I chose to make and represent plant-based packaging as my artefact.

As sustainability and climate change has become more prominent and talked about in modern day and age, society and people have chosen to start making small changes to ensure that we are doing things correctly and in a way that wouldn’t harm our environment. Something that is used in most places and items due to how easy it is to manufacture and dispose, is plastic! Plastic has been proven to have polluted our environment so badly on land and in our oceans harming the Earth and the wildlife that lives on and within. Because of the scale of monstrosity in which plastics have become widespread pollution globally, people, companies and other initiatives have begun to propose smarter, sustainable, renewable, and more eco-friendly solutions. In initiative of this, plastic straws were removed and major supermarket companies began to promote the use of re-usable bags instead of single-use plastic bags. Food companies have also made small changes, by implementing plant based, biodegradable packaging, this way the food can be served in quality and eco-friendly packaging. Plant based packaging makes use of organic matter and renewable vegetal sources to form packaging that is safe and efficient towards our environment to use. Because of its biodegradable complexity, it is easily broken down into the environment and our soil without harming it throughout the process. I believe in the future, plant-based packaging would be consistently used in food companies, restaurants and food packaging due to its practicality and non-harmful properties.

Plastic-less Peoples’ Supermarket

Our supermarket is plastic-free, and we grow all our produce. You may pick your own fruit. We also are a part of zero emission. The lightning rod on the tree powers our battery.

The Bottle-O Scheme

The Bottle-O Scheme is where we take bottles and lids to upcycle into phone outer shells, cases, screens, and screen protectors.

We take all the donated bottles and lids and give a 5-10c refund. We then send this to tech companies to upcycle.

The Shredernator

The Shredernator is a bin that shreds junk, and can give money, or if you donated it, you can send your money to a charity. Don’t put your hand in!

Wings of Warning (November 2024)

These artefacts show visions of future skies and the creatures that live there. Some are hopeful, while others mourn human-induced losses. They were created by secondary school students working on the Artefacts of the Future project in 2024.

Extinction

With the prompt ‘artistic representation of a concept’, I created an artwork conveying the extinction of birds. My finished piece shows a tree creeping up the side of the cardboard canvas with a bird’s nest perched on the branch, and feathers falling from the nest.

There are a variety of feathers of all sizes and colours to be found on the canvas, contrasted on an earthy coloured backdrop. Authentic leaves are patterned over the top of the tree, connected to the tree trunk. The large range of feather types show how the range of extinction is not limited to a few birds, and instead covers many different species. Since the year 2010 we have been a part of the 6th period of extinction, resulting in our numbers of bird species plunging downhill. I hope that in the future we have found a method to preserve and restore our many bird species, and with them our environment.

Choking

A lone bird lies dead on a cliff overlooking factories pumping fumes into the air. Everything around it has dulled, and it only increases as you get closer to the buildings.

This piece is an homage to the past where animals and people choked on the toxic fumes that were released into the blackened skies.

The Bird’s Nest

In my latest artwork exploring ‘artifacts of the future’ I’ve explored the concept of how our future could be gradually phased out and replaced, and my art piece is a reflective vision of what I believe the future could look like if the polluting and littering and throwing rubbish etc in the environment continues to grow.

My artifact of the bird’s nest symbolises the evolution of our world for native creatures and wildlife, particularly birds if the world and environment continue to be polluted. My art piece is showing the effects pollution has to even the smallest things such as a bird’s nest, it offers a glance of what I believe things in the future will look like overtime as the environment becomes increasingly polluted and visualises the degradation of their habitats becoming a polluted and non-livable place. Not only is pollution ruining animals and wildlife’s habitat and area, it destroys ours as humans too. This is suggesting having more of an approach to human care of the environment and consider what happens if we don’t make a change.

Butterflies Saved

The world has realised that butterflies are incredible pollinators and very necessary to the ecosystems. So pesticides were banned and now in 2025 the world is full of butterflies and other required pollinators.

Starry Night 2024

The painting of 2050 shows more stars because in 2030 governments around the world legislated that all unnecessary lighting had to be off by 11pm.

Starry Night 2050

(cont.) This was because the world realised that light pollution was affecting bird migratory patterns and was affecting their populations. This then affected the rest of the ecosystems.

Living with Less (October 2024)

These artefacts show possibilities for future homes, where we have learned to live with less. They were created by primary and secondary school students working on the Artefacts of the Future project in 2024.

Sustainable City

Three different energy sources come together to make a better future. One building runs off water, another off plants, and the last off solar energy. Water on the right, plants in the middle, solar at the back.

Space Savers

This house only uses things that are good for the environment. The house has many features including a veggie patch, compost bin, solar power, saves space.

The house is tall because its main purpose is to stop deforestation and save space. It is a very good way of keeping a sustainable world.

House of Rubbish

In Australia alone there is 75.8 million tonnes of rubbish created each year. The earth simply does not have the capacity to store this rubbish without harming nature. This leads to tremendous amounts of rubbish polluting our forests, ocean and grasslands.

The concept I have come up with is quite literally a ‘house of rubbish’. If we used the materials and resources that are contaminating our natural world to build houses, we could provide affordable housing for people as well as minimise the amount of waste in our world. As you can see the exterior of the house is made of materials that would typically be thrown in the bin like scraps of fabric and pieces of plastic. The inside of the house is painted a soft yellow colour to symbolise how a warm family environment can be cultivated from what is overlooked to be ‘rubbish’.

The Happy Home

This is a home and garden. It has a good food source of eggs, veggies and fruit. It has a composter to make the chicken poo useful and the old veggies into new ones by turning them into compost to put on the veggies and plants.

There are solar panels on the roof making the power bill a bit more affordable. The house is also very small so it’s easy to maintain. They built the house out of clay, hay, and mushrooms like the ones under the fruit trees. There is also a pond that attracts bugs, frogs, and juicy little yums for the chickens to eat. In the chicken coop there are two chickens. One is roosting and the other is pecking around. The house is north facing so they don’t need much heating which reduces electricity. There are two fruit trees which produce fresh and yum fruit to eat. The people in this house enjoy all the natural elements and are very happy and healthy. So are their chickens.

Compost Power

This is a compost power machine, and we hope by 2054 everyone will have one in their house to prevent food waste.

It will work by you can put all your food scraps in the chute, then to the decompressor and after that the waste of the food from the decompressor goes into the slicer to make it compost to go to the garden. The energy that comes from the decompressor will make your car charge or anything that is essential to charge, you can charge it.

Transformative Transport (September 2024)

These artefacts explore future possibilities for transport in 2050. They were created by primary and secondary school students working on the Artefacts of the Future project in 2024.

Evolution of Cars: Past, Present, Future

The artwork depicts a clear evolution from ancient wagons to modern-day automobiles, offering a speculative vision of future vehicle design.

Originating as wagons approximately 2000 years ago, these early modes of transport were primarily functional, resembling contemporary trucks, aiding in transportation between locations. Today, cars have undergone a significant metamorphosis, transitioning into sophisticated and opulent vehicles. However, this technological progress is not without environmental repercussions, as current vehicles contribute to greenhouse gas and carbon monoxide emissions, impacting the environment. Looking ahead over the next 26 years, the precise form and features of future automobiles remain uncertain, yet the artwork explores diverse possibilities regarding potential designs and functionalities.

Porsche SE

Hopefully by 2050 electric cars will be cool, however in my youth I loved revving my fossil fuel car and doing burnouts. However, the world changed and we all had to get electric cars because of climate change sadly.

This is the first thing that came to my mind. It’s the body of an old car with the interior and engine and the battery and everything of a modern electric car. I was inspired by my love for cars. I reckon 2050 cars will hopefully be like that. They’ll definitely be different. I’m hoping I’ll still be able to do burnouts, but a bit more environmentally friendly.

Electric Car

This is a 2024 electric car that is so efficient that it is still running to this day (2050). This is important as the world needed to move away from fossil fuels back when this was made. Now, 90% of cars are electric.

The Sigma Mobil

It has three solar panels. It has a window on the left side. It is super good for moving things.

Hover Car

Our hover car design uses magnetic levitation to float along magnetic tracks. It has wheels and skis that pop out using mechanical arms, depending on the terrain.

The hover car also has solar panels on its roof to help charge its magnetic levitation abilities.

The Solar Powered Truck & Plane

The sun powers the truck’s solar panels and the wheels are mechanisms that the sun hits a panel and it spins a little thing that spins the wheels.

The heat from the sun also powers a thing that charges the Coca Cola plane and when it’s done charging it can fly out the back of the truck. And it has an opening and closing sun protector for when it’s parked.

Thoughts of Trees (August 2024)

These artefacts explore future possibilities for trees in 2050. They were created by secondary school students working on the Artefacts of the Future project in 2024.

Begging to Grow Leaves

I chose to work with the prompt, “an artifact from the future demonstrating more sustainable ways of thinking, acting and being,” and created a sort of polluted tree made of straws and rubbish, yet it’s blended with some natural materials and now begging to grow leaves

I hope that in the future we can find authentic and sustainable ways to advance and preserve our environment, making our rubbish and waste into useful, sustainable things and work to keep our earth healthy.

2050 Tree

There is a pile of old 90s stuff, which represents the past. And the tree represents the future. Which means it’s a greener future. It’s the greener future growing out of the rubbish of the past. I don’t know what inspired me. It just came to mind.

For this to happen, we’ll definitely need to change to using less coal and more electric things, and solar. 

Last Tree

With my latest artwork, ‘Last Tree’, I adventured the aspect of deforestation and our future’s reality at the pace we are heading. This piece provides an artistic lens for imagining our past, present and potential future relationships with the environment.

My artifact symbolises deforestation and climate change to trees. It gives a small glimpse into what it could be like in 2050. We also get a glimpse into the world and deforestation. The story behind the tree was that it has been fenced and preserved to try and reproduce more trees after they had been destroyed by deforestation. It is blocked off from the world so scientists can try to preserve it.
The desert yellow sand is a representation of the land melting away its natural energy and serenity to a burnt-out deserted land that has no beauty or meaning to life. My artwork is more of a harsher effect on the environment by 2050.

Beauty Saved!

The endangered plant species of Australia have been saved to the point that they can be in vases. There was a huge effort to conserve and replant forests especially where these endangered species existed.

Invaluable Junk

It’s uncommon to find a Christmas tree that is perfectly arranged and well colour coded. We find that there is no trend – no colour palette, or style, or hot-in-ornament that everyone wants. It doesn’t update each year, and so evidently doesn’t fall into the hands of fast paced consumerism. Have you ever come across Christmas ornaments tossed at the side of the road, or resting eternally in landfill?

It doesn’t update every year, and so evidently doesn’t fall into the hands of fast paced consumerism. Have you ever come across Christmas ornaments tossed at the side of the road, or resting eternally in landfill?
Invaluable ‘junk’. That is what I like to call it. Each year brings the memories of the last – each tree unique and special to the stories beheld by its owner. Coloured in ornaments from different occasions, different people, different places. A tree that may not be perfect – much like what is displayed in the artwork itself. Perfectly imperfect – misshaped and roughed by memories. Never to be discarded of, for the longer it grows out of season, the more value it retains. And although its physical state may simply be of plastic, or glass, paper or string, it doesn’t weather out of trend. Much like we treasure photos – for the memory is unique to us, and so will never devalue due to the confliction of the ins and outs of society and its direction.
It symbolises our retention for items that have sentimental value. It might not be the latest gadget, or ruly to the latest trend. It is truly a boast to have an item immune to our modern day consumerism.
And if we can do it with a Christmas tree, surely this principle is applicable to other items. Maybe we can hold our clothes just a little longer, or our books, our furniture – even our devices. We can prolong their value – not just logistically, but sentimentally. We don’t have to keep up with the latest – sometimes the oldest will hold the most value, with memories, tradition and stories that society’s drift can’t match.