Speculative Forest Warfare Equipment – 3D Models for Polemocene

This is my commissioned contribution to the project "The Polemocene – The Human-Forest War" with focus on the design and creation of 3D models of speculative survival and combat equipment. These objects were imagined as “artifacts” collected by field agents from a war zone where humans and the forest are locked in struggle.

The 3D models I developed included:
A chainsaw reimagined as a soldier’s weapon, marked with slogans and resistance symbols.
Protective gloves with integrated sensors and solar cells.
A gas mask and oxygen tank, essential for survival in a toxic and hostile forest environment.

By drawing on Swedish military aesthetics, prepper culture, and speculative archaeology, my work aimed to balance realism with unsettling fiction — creating designs that feel disturbingly plausible, while prompting reflection on our present ecological and social trajectories.

In June 2025, my work was exhibited at Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg as part of the RISE project Future Prototypes for a Sustainable Forest Value Chain, funded by Vinnova*. Within this framework, the project The Polemocene – The Human-Forest War explored a speculative scenario 27 years into the future, where the forest has turned against human exploitation. Through speculative design, one part of the project investigated the role of artifacts, survival gear, and social structures in a world shaped by ecological conflict.

Link to the project on RISE: https://www.ri.se/sv/expertisomraden/projekt/polemocenen-manniskans-krig-med-skogen
Link to the exhibition page on Röhsska: https://rohsska.se/utstallningar/designhistorier/super-o/manniska-material-och-skog/
Link to the funding page from Vinnova: https://www.vinnova.se/e/utlysning-inom-hallbara-vardekedjor/framtidsprototyper-for-en-hallbar-skogsvardekedja/

* This research was funded by Vinnova [grant number 2024-04208]. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version arising from this submission.