QAZI AZEEM FAZLI MFA DYNAMIC MEDIA INSTITUTE | www.fazliazeem.com
Information overload is a common symptom on the many media outlets and choices on the internet. As part of my sadvocacy for autistic individuals in South Asia, I wanted to simulate the experience of “sensory overload” among learners on the autism spectrum. The use of technology in educational media has evolved from being a political pool of governments to the click-through rate of search engine optimizers and websites targeting users with advertisements. As freedoms and choices are being challenged in the new frontier, new media’s response is accelerating the distribution and consumption of online content. Increasing internet censorship in developing countries, such as my native Pakistan, continues to distort perceptions of culture and reality, insulating youth from free online educational materials. My role as an educator for design technology overlaps with online activism for educational inclusion and internet freedom. Living and working in a culture of self-censorship, I have been challenged by online proxies and anonymous web browsing tools. Education has become a matter of perception; everything changes depending on who is teaching and who is being taught. This cognitive polymorphism is the subject of my thesis and my art. We adapt and learn through our environmental and personal lens—our biases and stereotypes that we are indoctrinated into. To overcome them is a struggle that is mirrored in biological evolution by adaptation. The desire to survive, thrive and live necessitates a change of perspective, leading to a change in how we learn. My perspective on life changed as I learned from people on the autism spectrum. Through trial and error, I learned how to focus on things which make a difference in the world around me. I want the observer to experience my struggle to make sense of the world. I hope this experience moves the observer towards understanding the other—the person on the autism spectrum and appreciating inclusion through a change in his/her perception. Qazi Fazli Azeem is a Fulbright Scholar from Pakistan, here in the US for his MFA in Communication Design at Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s Dynamic Media Institute. He is a visiting researcher at the MIT Media Lab, a member of MIT’s Think Tank and a global design ambassador for the Interaction Design Foundation. His educational technology research was showcased at the 2014 US Dept. of Education Datapalooza in Washington D.C. Azeem is Pakistan’s first and South Asia’s only International self-advocate for the autism spectrum since 2006. In 2013, I spoke at a panel at the United Nations in New York City on World Autism Awareness Day. His inspiration draws from his interest in technology, education, neurodiversity, futurism and new media. His work discusses stereotypes and limitations, both in technology and in those that try to control it.
// Perspective, 2014, tablet, camera lucida lens, 3D printed lens holder, lamp base, video montage
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