Steve Mushin

MEDIA LINKS:

Steve’s website

The Ultrawild book website

Steve’s Instagram

Teaching resources: Ultrawild

Interview: Radio New Zealand

Profile: Australian Design Centre

Article: Sydney Morning Herald

Where were you born?

I was born in Scotland in a small city called Dundee – recently famous for the return of beavers after a 400-year absence.

What other jobs have you had?

My design work spans science-based adventure playgrounds (I recently designed a giant steam-punk mechanical millipede at CERES park in Melbourne in collaboration with my friend, sculptor Nick Curmi) to working with scientists and engineers to imagine future materials, buildings and transportation. I’m a massive nature lover and also work as a teacher at an ecosanctuary. 

What themes are recurring in your work?

Hilarious sounding ecological machines – which no one thinks could possible work (but actually could) – to solve very serious problems. Back-of-napkin calculations that prove how crazy ideas could actually work. Using explosive gas produced by rotting waste to do useful things like blast compost cannon balls where they’re needed…

What have been the highlights of your career?

My recent exhibition in Japan, and workshops in Tokyo where I worked with locals to imagine how we could turn the city into a forest by recycling all of its waste to create soil.

What have been the highlights of your career?

My exhibition of drawings and models in Tokyo – where I ran workshops to imagine how we could transform the city into a forest. Finishing my book Ultrawild (it took me 7 years!).

Where have your works been published?

My comedy science future inventions were exhibited by The Australian Design Centre as part of CUSP (2013), a touring exhibition of futures design thinking.

In August 2014, my exhibition Now If What Then: Farming Tokyo was exhibited as a solo show at Spiral contemporary art gallery in Japan, in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Agriculture.

My designs have also been exhibited in Sydney at the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery (2015), at The Glasshouse in Port Macquarie (2016), and at MRPG gallery and Docklands Library Gallery in Melbourne (2017).

What are you passionate about?

Drawing. Brainstorming ideas. Telling stories. Collaborating with all kinds people to imagine and prototype ideas. Having great conversations with people who like animals and plans and ludicrous sounding ideas.

Haven’t I seen you before?

Doubt it. I spend most of my time making things in secret workshops.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I’m convinced that absolutely everyone has outrageously good ideas – ideas that could turn the world upside down overnight. Problem is, we don’t realise how good our ideas are. Or we don’t happen to know people with billions of dollars. The billions of dollars thing can be a problem…But it IS pretty easy to make sure everyone learns the basic brainstorming and design skills that help bring good ideas to life. And if we can do that, we could see the world change much faster than we can possibly imagine.