The second week of the Real-World Media studio considers the evolutionary aspect of media, constantly evolving and changing.

This was explored in a reading allocated to the class by Simone Natale, titled ‘There Are No Old Media’ (2016). This paper considers the notions of ‘old’ and ‘new’ media. Natale proposes that conceptualising certain types of media as old or new is flawed. As they reference in the paper, oldness is synonymous with “obsolete” or “discarded” (Natale 2016, p.588). Therefore, implying that media labelled as old is no longer useful and no longer exists.

In contrast, Natale proposes that “there are no old media” (Natale 2016, p.597). Comparing what is considered old media with “ghosts- presences that are generated with our imagination but can have real effects and impact” (Natale 2016, p.597). Natale highlights several examples of the interplay and relationship between digital and analogue forms of media “that makes it hard to erect a strict divide between analogue and digital media.” (Natale 2016, p.589).

This week’s creative practice (posted above) allowed me to conceptualise this idea explored in the reading. The photo that I used in the creative practice represents a past memory of a trip to the beach. Despite being an old memory, it was a significant moment for me and had an impact on my life. Time does not make something obsolete or something that should be discarded.

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