This is absolute heresy.
This is absolute heresy.
We will experience a shift in the continuum of our lives; a cataclysmic change in how we are to live—the event known as Terminus.
Will it serve as our end, or become the chance to evolve for a sustainable future? Terminus condemns, and manifests solutions to unsustainable practice in the form of a sustainable bath melt product and package. It visualizes degradation of livelihoods. Culture and geography highlight the impending reality of a planet ravaged by an unsustainable economy. By examining the arctic region of the world, Terminus recreates a uniquely Canadian experience that evolves into global sentiment, rooted in history, science, and truth.
The Terminus film synthesizes a distinctly Canadian experience, showcasing archived footage of ordinary people in the midst of trivial daily practices, and is a critique of this frivolity. The statistics revealed reflect a quantification of industrial impact on climate change upon a global scale. The graphic distortions are symbolic of anthropogenic forcing of natural disasters. These dark themes are contrasted with footage of every day activities. The aim is to disrupt the apathy people feel toward their rapidly disintegrating world by association with the mundane. Trivial acquisition should be regarded with caution, as a looming, perpetual reminder that the earth’s ecology is a fragile system.
The glitch effect was created using an initial video of the bath melt diffusing in water. The clip was sped up 8x, colour graded, and applied to a separate particle wave (emulating the northern lights motif from the package) with a displacement map. It was then displaced over the final video.
Terminus Bath Melts are packaged in sustainable cotton, that visualizes the decline in arctic sea ice over the course of thirty years. The fabrics are reusable as home decor. One bath bomb comes wrapped inside one of three different variations; a flat towel or napkin, pillow case, or tote bag. Instructions and ingredients are printed on the logo side of the tag that is included inside. The decorative side of each piece features the word Terminus in Inuktitut characters, and visual elements of Inuit art.
Terminus Bath Melts recreate both the emotional and physical experience of a degrading arctic landscape in your own bath. Stark pigments bleed into bath water, disrupting its serenity. They are handmade with natural ingredients that moisturize and cleanse, leaving no harmful by-product after their use.
Currently, 2.7 hectares of land are required to produce the resources needed to sustain just one human being. In actuality, only 2.1 hectares per person are available. By 2035, as the earth approaches maximum capacites, millions of people will be displaced from the natural resources which they require to survive. Among them are the Inuit tribes of Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. An arctic landscape void of ice affects the hunting efficacy of Indigenous peoples and animals. The arctic diet is one of mostly meat and fish. In the tundra, blueberries and salmonberries bloom in spring, ripe for the dawn of a prosperous new era. Users can enjoy the sentiment of blueberry in the Terminus Bath Melt.
The final piece of the project is a stylish pamphlet that summarizes the final outputs and research data. It was designed to be printed on biodegradable paper.
This thesis project took eight months to complete. Research and design process was supervised by Isabel Meirelles. Initial premiere and exhibition took place at OCAD University’s GRADEX103 show in May of 2018. To see digital look books from GRADEX, check out the GRADEX103 highlight reel on my Instagram page. Terminus products are available for purchase. Click below to order.