The Power Of The Ordinary

The brief challenged us to imagine South Africa one hundred years from now, in the year 2125, through the lens of Afrofuturism and Speculative Design. We were asked to design three artefacts from this imagined future, each serving as evidence of how society, culture, and technology might evolve. The goal was not to predict the future, but to provoke thought about the kind of future we want to create. Each artefact needed to align with a personal cause and tell a speculative story that feels both imaginative and grounded in reality, a “time capsule” carrying lessons, warnings, and hopes from tomorrow. My project envisions a world where technology has replaced touch, emotion, and culture. In this digital, impersonal age, connection has become data and identity has become code. Yet, when a time capsule from old Sophiatown is unearthed, it sparks a return to simpler times and a longing to feel again, to remember what it means to be human.