INDEX
IDEATION
1. planning stage
scribbles
I started with multiple ideas in mind with a very wide pursuit. In order to narrow down my thoughts, I jotted down some of the things that I am most interested in and trying to see the relations between them. Step by step, I finally landed on some keywords like membrane, self and other, boundaries, bodies.
free writing
In the past few months I have been thinking of the phenomenological relationship between myself and other surroundings. How is a permanent relation established, What is the boundary between me and you, am I alienated from you, Are there physical restraints from our conncection, and moreover, how is the selfhood constructed based on these Other bodies. These are all questions i have in mind. I have been specifically intrigued by human relationships, which I think is also the core of interactive design. As lacan as mentioned, in the phase of an infant looking at the mirror, they have been alienated from themselves through that register of their image in an Other body Image in the mirror. The recognition amounts to “misrecognition”, making the ego a congealed object instead of subject, and is a repository for the projected wishes and fantasies. The embodiment of the selfhood is thus a chorus of the Others’ projection. Yet, I am also intrigued by the subject-object exchange in both self-recognition and recognizing the other. In the past, I have also been feeling detached from my own body due to weight loss. After a certain level of restrain my mind has set on my body, it somewhat shaped my body to my desired image, where the projection fuses with the recognition. Yet, after crossing a certain threshold, my body no longer is within my full control. The first significant signal is the loss of my period. Then, the over-eating syndrome. The body becomes an automaton or an organ that is beyond my mind’s projection, which is somewhat like a reversed relation as what Lacan has mentioned. Instead of me or the surrounding projecting into the ego, it is projecting its own libidinal signals in a reciprocal relation. And in terms of the relation between self and the Other, there have always been minor conflicts. What composed of these minor conflicts when we deal with human relationship, and how are they affecting the long term relationship is also super interesting.
2. exploration stage
cold calls, interviews
(portions of the notes)
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relating bofashion it to alchemy (seven stages), but western alchemy So do I need to bring in my own cultural backgrounds?
Calcination, Dissolution, Separation, Conjunction, Fermentation, Distillation, and Coagulatio
Treat alchemy as a form of transformation. Though it is not related to your cultural background, the transforming mechanism of it could be the inspiration source of your work. In the end there won’t be acute signifiers of different cultures but only your own thought process matters. An example is the placenta project by -
merge of different bodies and blurring the boundaries, finding beauty in the monstrous forms
the phenomenological relationship between myself and other surroundings. How is a permanent relation established, What is the boundary between me and you, am I alienated from you, Are there physical restraints from our connection, and moreover, how is the selfhood constructed based on these Other bodies
creating a room where people share the same senses (haptics, visuals, etc)
wearables embodied cognition
- treat alchemy as a transformation
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do not overthink on the cultural signifiers since you have your own cultural footprint whenever you are making art and telling stories
- biomaterials like scoby takes a long time to prepare
- How to create large-scale inflatables?
It is doable but very expensive. Also the sounds made by the venting pumps should always be kept in mind. The pneumatics system that is available on the floor is very small and could not support large-scale installations. Maybe instead of using inflatables which is very time-consuming and financially expensive, just use fabric as screens to visualize the membranes which can be more powerful and direct.
This conversation makes me reframe my idea from doing large-scale inflatables to transparent fabrics that could convey the idea of skin, membrane and boundaries.
- large-scale inflatables are hard to achieve
- flat surfaces instead
- How to convey my ideas in a powerful form of installation?
One of the most interesting feature in the parable and your idea is the hardness vs. softness. Think more about how such different materialities could trigger different experiences. - how to onboard the participants?
RSVP? Caption and wall-text itself can carry some information about what will happen in your experience. But you can make it more poetic.
- hardness vs softness
- How to visualize my ideas?
Think more about the bodily representations of boundaries. Maybe the skin can be a great way to visualize it. Maybe there are 2 installations, with 2 participants. in 2 different areas of the place, or maybe even one in Shanghai and one in NYC. Or it can be 2 parts of the building. 2 people in different places can interact and wear these things, and they can interact in a VR space, that includes projections. Perhaps in a third space .
- skin
- real-time communication of 2 installations