In his recent book Biogea the philosopher Michel Serres makes the case for the need to listen to the world. Rather than following the lengthy traditions of human-centred domination of the material and natural world Serres calls for the need to change this perspective: to listen attentively to what the world is telling us. In this presentation Serres’ work will be used to consider, both conceptually and methodologically, how objects can be listened to, and how the clamour of things might be heard. As Serres says, “let’s listen”.

Dr Craig Martin is a design theorist and cultural geographer working across the registers of material culture, mobility and non-representational theories. These coalesce around specific material expressions including distributive spaces; new forms of materiality; and affective atmospherics. The first of these is concerned with how distributive space can be used to critically interrogate the global contexts of commodity mobilities within the design process. The second considers forms of material expression associated with new manufacturing technologies, focusing on its impact on what material culture might become. The third deals with the sense of place elicited through spatial atmospherics, particularly how we engage with the ‘feelings’ of a particular site.

Dr Craig Martin is based at the School of Design, University of Edinburgh

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