Upon the inception of their partnership, David McDermott & Peter McGough began a "time experiment" encompassing both their lives and work in the studio. The artist pair took to dressing like turn-of-the-century fops, living by candlelight, and reviving 19th century photography practices. They made pictures based on old paintings or still-lives from around their city and country homes. Period rooms and models were painstakingly reconstructed, photographed and backdated to appear as though they were produced in the early 19th century.

For this writing exercise, we will focus on their exhibition’s title work, pictured centered on the wall above. A befitting slogan for McDermott and McGough, I’ve Seen the Future and I’m Not Going, is a sort of rallying cry for the collaborative duo. The slogan is painted here in typeface styles and designs reminiscent of the past, perhaps inspired by turn-of-the-century advertisements. In lieu of accepting the present and moving forward at the ever-increasing pace of the world, McDermott and McGough created their own world to live in instead. In this work, completed in 2005, the artists acknowledge the future, but choose to remain bonded to the past. It’s no surprise that the word “future” is the only word gilded in what appears to be a futuristic silver metal; it seems to have been formed from the tracks of a high speed train. In contrast, the other words are painted in late 19th century scripts; styles more in line with the artists’ preferred aesthetic. Each word is its own unique letterform, but all are heavily embellished with curls and foliage.

Imagine now that you’ve fallen through time, accidentally or intentionally. You spend one week in the future before being jolted back to your own time: the year 2020. A loved one finds you, stunned and confused, and the only thing you can say is “I’ve seen the future and I’m not going.”

In your writing, be sure to include the following:

• What year did you travel to? Where were you exactly?

• What did you see? What were people like?

• What about the future makes you want to avoid experiencing it?

•  Are there ways that you could affect change to impact the future you want to prevent?