2012 – Discover Bristol
Charles Sidney Harper (PDF download)
Charles Sidney Harper was created as collaboration with Dr Eleanor Cosgrave, to bring the engineering and arts industry together. Eleanor’s brief was to create a project that would help young children understand the technological advances in Britain over the last 200 years. We created this fictional character that was 201,
born in 1901.
She started by setting him up an online life, using social media and email. During the two-day event in Bristol in 2012 they recreated his study and school children were invited to explore his possessions, read his obituary and listen to a future radio program announcing his passing. There was email available for contact along with a mobile phone and an actor on the other end who would answer questions asked by the participants as Charles. At the end of their exploration they were invited to choose objects they did not recognise and write to Charles explaining what they thought they were and whether they were future or past.
The online Charles is still there.
