Edge of the Present is a ‘mixed reality’ (virtual and physical) environment designed to cultivate future thinking. Inspired by neuropsychological research into the workings of memory and imagination, and made in collaboration with psychologists, mental health specialists and participants with lived experiences of suicide survival, this compelling immersive experience invites us to ‘invent the next ten minutes’ – something that is a challenge when we find ourselves inhabiting the ‘edge of the present’. 

The participatory installation is comprised of rooms that visitors navigate while wearing virtual reality headsets. The architectural features of the physical environment correspond with those seen and experienced in the virtual world, but in the virtual world, the room can be dramatically transformed by the actions of the visitor. By using technology in this novel way, the installation helps viewers to better engage with the present moment – and hence with the future – with openness, curiosity, and confidence.

Installation by Alex Davies, Image: Jessica Maurer.

Alex Davies

Alex Davies is an award-winning Australian media artist whose practice spans a diverse range of media and experiments with interaction, technology, perception, mixed reality and illusion. In 2013 he was awarded a PhD in Media Arts at the UNSW College of Fine Arts examining the relationship between the techniques of stage magic and the creation of illusion in media arts. He is a Scientia Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Media Arts at UNSW Australia Art & Design and has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally. He is the recipient of Qantas Foundation Contemporary Australian Art Award, UNSW Scientia Fellowship, Creative Australia Fellowship and has received numerous grants from the Australia Council’s Inter-Arts, Music, Visual Arts, and New Media Boards. 

Michaela Davies

Michaela Davies Phd(Psych), MA(Psych), BA(Psych)Hons combines arts/performance and clinical practice, to offer a non-judgmental and supportive environment where clients can feel safe to address whatever challenges they are facing. Using evidence-based treatment, she tailors therapy to the particular needs and experiences of each individual and creates a supportive collaborative partnership between herself and her clients. 

Alessandro Donagh-De Marchi

Alessandro Donagh-De Marchi is nearing the end of his Bachelor degree in Psychological Science. He has spent many years acting as a mental health ambassador and advocate, both within his community and across Australia, through his work with headspace, The Primary Health Network (PHN), Lifeline, and more. In 2015 Alessandro was nominated to be a part of the headspace Youth National Reference Group (hYNRG). Through Lifeline, Alessandro is also a member of the Suicide Prevention Network. in 2016 he worked to inform mental health related policy by collaborating with the Mental Health Commission, the PHN, former Health Minister Sussan Ley and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Alessandro has worked with local schools and youth organisations, using his own lived experience of depression, anxiety, and suicide to connect young people with service access points. In 2017 Alessandro was Festival Ambassador for The Big Anxiety, and currently, he continues his work with mental health through the South West Sydney Primary Health Network. 

Ashley Dyer

Ashley Dyer is a performance maker, workshop facilitator and producer. His interdisciplinary practice extends across more traditional art forms, often integrating tools from dance, new music, visual art, and performance. Recently, he devised and/or led artistic processes with some of the most marginalized people: former and currently serving criminal offenders (JR Brennan’s The Chat, in Australia) and victims of human trafficking (SK!N, in Malaysia). In each case contemporary, sometimes experimental artistic processes were balanced with progressive social outcomes.  Internationally, he has been invited to teach master classes at the Centre for Performance Research (Wales), The Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama, and The Grotowski Institute, Poland.

Faisal Sayani

Faisal is a filmmaker and former journalist in Pakistan. He is now a freelance journalist, with a history of working in the broadcast media industry. He holds a Master of Research focused in Creative Writing & Literary Studies from Western Sydney University. His work is informed by his experience of depression and is concerned with global politics, issues facing Muslim and minority populations, and the effects of censorship by government systems on artists and political opposition.