If storytelling got us here, can truth telling take us somewhere else?
Education Corporation explores the marketisation of Australia's public university sector and the impact on staff and students. Primary and secondary data points to a system in which staff are overworked and under-resourced, while students are increasingly disheartened with an experience that has them paying more for less.
Findings were consolidated into a publication and translated through image and performance based installations at MADA Now 2023 Graduate Exhibition.
Sean McKenna is a designer and maker, working on unceded Wurundjeri and Wadawurrung land.
Outstanding Project
Image 1: Image Based Installation
A visual expression of power and narrative hierarchy: screen-printed posters criticising universities and the individuals that have contributed to their current state are eclipsed by an image reminiscent of a university marketing campaign, effectively pacifying all voices of descent through both its form and content.
Image 2: DRK
Design Research Kit used to survey and record staff and students’ experiences. Results expressed through data visualisation.
Image 3: T-Shirt-Print
Printed invoices encourage students to consider the transactional model of university education.
Image 4: Campaign Publication
Essay publication on history of higher education in Australia.
Image 5: Aluminium Poster
Prepare. Study. Discover Water-based ink on aluminium sheet. Aerosol on Aluminium frame.
Prepare. Study. Discover.
Water-based ink on aluminium sheet Aerosol on Aluminium frame
In the spirit of reconciliation Monash University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
