[IM Hyperessay] E I G H T H S E N S E

A medium which spans across several disciplines, clothing simultaneously engages the visual senses of others and the tactile sense of the wearer. In more recent times, technology and fashion have converged to form “wearable technology”, ranging from new design techniques to new textiles.

As a fashion design house, The Unseen is no different. Certainly, their designs are tailored towards essentials like visual pleasantry or tactile comfort. As a material innovation house, however, founder Lauren Bowker argues that it goes beyond that. They are “creating items that allow us to explore more about our lives and the environment in which we live,” she claims.

LAUREN BOWKER, THE UNSEEN AND THEIR KEY FEATURES

A self-proclaimed material alchemist, Bowker is a prime example of the convergence of art and technology. Her expertise in the fields of chemistry and textiles allows her to meld the two to create new textiles supported by chemical reactions. Through The Unseen, she has also begun to delve into digital software to detect said factor and create reactions, than just chemical compounds.

In 2012, Bowker founded The Unseen to further pursue her interest in interactive textiles. A famous story is of how she fell sick while studying textiles, and had the epiphany that she desired the creation of textiles with “more meaning“. In simpler terms, textiles which can provide insights into issues like the physical and mental wellbeing of the wearer, or the characteristics of the surrounding environment (heat, wind, pollution, among others).

INTEREST IN THE PARTICIPANT, AND ITS EFFECT ON THE EXISTENCE OF EIGHTHSENSE AS INTERACTIVE ART

We see the culmination of this interest in the wearer’s condition in the interactivity of EIGHTHSENSE. Developed by The Unseen, it received assistance from partners Holition and Innovate UK.

The piece in question. It is made of flexible ceramic, which in turn is made of innumerable pixels. Said pixels are hand-painted with colour-changing inks developed through Bowker’s expertise in chemistry.

Described as a “coded couture” piece, EighthSense is, simply put, a wearable ceramic sculpture which changes patterns of colour based on the emotional aura of the wearer.

While “couture” refers to its existence as an exclusive fashion piece, “coded” refers to the way in which the design functions: the smart textile is coded to analyse electromagnetic waves generated naturally by the wearer. This will later be essential in understanding EighthSense’s status as an interactive artwork.

Graphic 1. Click to zoom in, or on images below to see each segment one by one. An explanation of how the system works to change the colour of the piece.

As established in Cybernetics in History and Behavioural Art and the Cybernetic Vision, interactivity is mainly determined by the presence of complex actions and behavioural art.

In EighthSense, there is a desire to understand more about the emotional status of the wearer, and reflect that through the garments they are wearing. Consequently, the piece takes on the qualities of behavioural art, where the artwork is something defined by the behaviour of the wearer than the assertion of the designer.The behaviour in question here is the emotional state of the wearer, such that the artwork can change form depending on that aura. The designer takes a supplementary role, simply providing the canvas and means through which the participant engages with the artwork. As the artwork must have an emotional status to reflect, it is necessary to directly engage the participant, lest the artwork cease to exist.

Furthermore, this reflection of emotional status can only occur through the use of something to execute complex actions, where that something is the use of technology in art. A complex action is defined as the action system by which the input will lead to an output, often through deliberately routing than direct causation. As shown through the video, without input, the artwork is static and grey. With varying inputs in the form of biological signals, then, comes varying patterns of colour.

Referring to the graphic again, we see that the headset provides raw electro-physiological data. The Holition application then modifies the raw data as per necessary, and sends to the artwork as inputs for processing. After which, the sculpture creates outputs based on those inputs, allowing the electro-physiological data to be visualised as colour on the garment.

This provides structure through the existence of algorithms which continuously receives biological signals as feedback from the wearer. Since the objective is to reflect the wearer’s emotional status, the garment will constantly check said data, and change colour accordingly. By extension, this structure assists in staving off entropy, where entropy is defined as the possibility of “disorganisation in [information] transit”. As long as you have some knowledge of what inputs lead to what outputs, the awareness of the antecedent (emotional status) will allow you to deduce the consequent (garment colour), and vice versa.

CONVERGENCE OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN, AND ITS EFFECT ON THE EXISTENCE OF EIGHTHSENSE AS IMMERSIVE & INTERACTIVE HYPERMEDIA

On the more technical side, a semblance of entropy can, regardless, still be maintained due to how the technology allows for infinite possibilities as to the form of the artwork. This is due to 1) the tessellation of pixels to build up the sculpture, and 2) the existence of multiple hues and tones, such that the colour culmination will never be exactly the same.

Graphic 2. Exact specifications, and a graphical example of how colours are culminated. Associated emotions are as per claimed by Bowker.

From this graphic, we can also see that EighthSense has inadvertently crossed into the realm of hypermedia, according to As We May Think, where the criteria primarily revolves around non-linearity and multimedia.

EighthSense is able to have a non-linear method of information organisation because of its dedication to tackling emotion in relation to colour. In this artwork, emotion and colour are linked not by artificial and linear methods like alphabetical order, but by a non-linear method: colour psychology. This is a distinctly human construct which relies entirely on how the human brain creates association. For example, one might categorise ‘fury’ and ‘irritation’ together as subsets of ‘anger’, than have them all on the same hierarchy level. It is not improbable, though, that it is simply that they generate similar electro-physiological data, and thus generate similar colours as outputs.

Furthermore, the medium of and technology behind EighthSense causes it to be considered interactive multimedia as well. The garment exists in the domains of many types of media: the visual image of the wearable, the animation of the ever-changing colour and the interactivity of the emotional input.

Many of its features also provide EighthSense with a reasonable amount of immersive quality. Immersion, as per Sutherland’s The Ultimate Display, involves the usage of appropriate input systems and interfaces to increase familiarity of control. Virtual Environments expands on Sutherland’s ideas, in suggesting engagement of some, if not all, senses, as a way to duplicate and extend reality.

Once again, the medium of and technology behind the garment allows it to cater to various senses. The wearable itself engages the tactile sense of experiencing the flexible ceramic against skin. The form of the wearable engages the visual sense of experiencing what the artwork looks like. In addition, there is emotional engagement in the form of emotions directing the outcome of the garment, which increases the level of immersion.

However, the headset is a somewhat disappointing input system, where it is neither intuitive nor immersive: should it not come from the garment, instead of an external factor? Would it not have been better to design a hat instead of having to wear extra items?

However, it is also important to note that EighthSense is incredibly successful at extending reality through technology in a way plausible enough for us to suspend belief: the manifestation of emotions on clothes. As intangible emotion is closely tied to tangible colour, we see that the notion of colour changing to match emotion can be smoothly integrated into textile design. Thus, it is able to be immersive enough to prevent disassociation.

CONCLUSION

It is not a travesty to assert that Bowker’s claim of exploring the wearer and their surroundings is true. Certainly, The Unseen has accomplished that in an astounding manner, where the garment’s interactivity elegantly detects, analyses and visualises the wearer’s aura.

The Unseen’s signature style of combining design and technology also shines, and unintentionally brings the artwork into the realm of hypermedia through the natural information categorisation and multimedia form. Of course, the immersion level could be better: it is simply bizarre to think that it is not necessary to wear the garment at all, since the input comes from elsewhere.

Regardless, EighthSense and The Unseen represent a positive step towards assimilating interactive technology in everyday life, and I am confident that this can and will be a future trend in fashion.

(Word Count: 1365 words)

Please note that hyperlinks have been included in the hyperessay for definitions and quotes.

Additionally, image sources can be found by clicking on each image, which will redirect you to the original website. (Images for Graphic 1 from here and here, and featured image from here)

REFERENCES

Chung, B. (2015). Now You Can Wear Your Aura on Your Sleeve. For VICE. (link).

Howarth, D. (2013). The Unseen creates “coded couture” to read wearers’ auras. For dezeen. (link).

Mower, S. (2015). Meet Lauren Bowker, London’s First Fashion-Channeling Witch. For VOGUE. (link).

The dress that changes colour with your emotions. On BBC News. (link).

THEUNSEEN EighthSense. On Holition. (link).

The Unseen Essence. (link).

WIRED. (2018). The Unseen uses chemistry to create reactive fashion. For WIRED. (link).

 

 

Key Work Selection, and relations to Hypermedia

While The Unseen dabbles in various things, I chose the key work based on what I believed 1) was related to fashion, and only fashion, design, 2) had the potential to be “normalised” as an integral part of design, and 3) had some form of official recognition.

Thus, the Eighthsense collection.

  • Colour and pattern changing ceramic wearable sculpture
  • Collaboration with Holition and Innovate UK
    • Holition is a company which collaborates with companies dabbling in upcoming technologies
    • Innovate UK is a government-associated board which supports innovation in technology
      • Interestingly, The Unseen is its only fashion technology awardee so far. “When I applied for the award, it was the first one I had seen for fashion technology.” (Bowker, 2015)
  • Manifesting the wearer’s aura through colour changes and pattern shifts
    • Through recording the generated electromagnetic energy (human magnetism and “electroencephalogram”)
    • Which thus gives insight into the emotional state of the wearer
    • e.g. Turns red for anger, blue for serenity
  • Supported by the British Fashion Council
    • Received an award from Innovation UK’s Technology Strategy Board

Personally, I feel that this has the potential to be “normalised”, where it seems fairly plausible to have fashion designs which deal with reflecting the wearer or the wearer’s surroundings. While technology and fashion have already converged, such as with UNIQLO’s advanced fibers to absorb moisture or retain heat, interactive technology is much newer, from the earliest renditions in the 1980s, to The Unseen, of the 2000s.

Now, to hypermedia.

The key words of hypermedia might be “non-linearity” and “multimedia”. In essence, this means:

  1. Information is organised as per how the human brain does, as opposed to how a machine might organise information
    • Feelings are organised as anger {fury, rage, irritation} and sadness {melancholy, despair} rather than alphabetically
  2. This information can take many forms, perhaps simultaneously as well
    • Rather than just audio or text, the use of both simultaneously. May also include movement and interactivity, where the dynamic, shifting form is considered as multimedia

The link is perhaps not as clear as for interactivity, but this work loosely relates to hypermedia, where the consequent colours and patterns are grouped by types than ordered lists (although this may be because the electromagnetic waves are also similar within each set of feelings). Of course, it falls under multimedia: while it relies on visual and ignores things like texture or sound, the interactivity makes it such that there is movement, and as such, it serves as an “animation” of sorts.

  • Announcements on GOV.UK. (link).
  • Arthur, R. (2015). Material Science Hits Selfridges With The Unseen’s Color – Change Accessories Line. For Forbes. (link).
  • Chung, B. (2015). Now You Can Wear Your Aura on Your Sleeve. For VICE. (link).
  • THEUNSEEN EighthSense. On Holition. (link).
  • The Unseen Essence. (link).
  • Same featured image again ha

Artist Selection, and Ponderings on Interactivity

But, what if our clothes became more than a basic covering? Creates a dress code that acts as an extension of you and adapts to the environment on your behalf? That’s the question fashion designers are starting to toy with, be it in the pre-prototype, prototype, or ready for market phase. (Kimani, 2016)

As one of the most ambiguous and cross-disciplinary forms, fashion could be anything from a product, to a visual communication, to avant-garde, to a commodity, to a new form of self-expression. This uncertainty fascinates me immensely, and as such I will be choosing an artist who dabbles in interactive fashion: Lauren Bowker, founder of The Unseen.

(Images from here. Example of a way clothing might be traditionally interactive, through responding to your movements. Arguably, fashion is also interactive, as a whole, in that you get to choose, customise and coordinate whichever pieces you want to create different outfits, such that it involves both the “artist” and the active participant.)

Due to the convergence of disciplines, it is difficult to describe her, but here are the two main descriptors:

  1. Convergence of science and art: Though she does hold a design degree, Lauren Bowker is also primarily a material alchemist. Thus, her works are defined by the materials she personally developed through chemical experimentation.
  2. Interest in the human condition: A famous story is of how she fell sick while studying, and discovered that she wished to “produce material that could speak for you“. Thus, her works are often dynamic and dependent on derivable information.

Combining her self-developed materials and her desire to accurately reflect the self would then lead to fashion pieces which provide visual feedback through said materials based on the collected data. For example, a jacket which turns from yellow to black through the use of a colour-change ink based on the pollution levels.

Examples of works:

  • A I R collection: changes colour based on the environment, from heat and sound to moisture levels

  • PHNX collection: Collaboration with Peachoo + Krejberg, ripples based on movement

  • F I R E hair dye: Changes colour based on surrounding temperature

Ponderings on Interactivity

Out of curiosity, I looked up existing essays from other classes, and was vaguely intrigued to see that many works somehow tended to… Look similar. It is not a phenomenon I can explain, but many of them have similar vibes, in terms of visual style.

(For example, the usage of colourful lights arranged in wide areas, or the emphasis on the organic form reflected in digitally-rendered interactive pieces.)

Which brings to mind a few questions:

1) Why are there so many similar traits among interactive art pieces?

The foremost answer is likely that we all happened to choose fairly similar pieces because our preconceived notions of interactive art tends to be of installments and sculptures. Also, that perhaps it’s harder to choose things which don’t have defined forms, like games.

Entropy, active participation, process than product. Though these factors create an infinite number of artworks, many similarities are retained.

In terms of input, humanity is ultimately fairly homogeneous. Physically, we all perceive the world in a fairly similar way. As such, interactive art can only use what humanity is capable of, such as visual or auditory sensors. Even if technology expands to be able to cover “thoughts”, it is difficult to cater to program a different reaction to every single input, where we need to place them within sets, like “anger” to comprise any emotion from rage to irritation.

In terms of means, interactive art pieces are often severely limited by available technology, where there are limits to what can be done in the field of interactive art. For example, it is only possible to generate a feedback loop based on physical factors, like motion or voice frequency. Even pieces which claim to “tune into psychological state” can only determine it by things like pulse rate. If we were able to, for example, devise a technology that can detect your political standing from your thoughts than through your words, there might be a larger scope for interactive art to work in.

In terms of output, it may be that interactive art is a fairly new concept. We have not yet explored the various ways in which it can be incorporated, where mediums such as LED lights are one of the most explored ways. The rise of new media also means the expanding of possible platforms, from a physical form, to a digital form, such that things like the internet can be used for art.

2) What is the difference between interactive art in new media and interactive everything else?

If we compare new media versus old media, the difference is evident (two-way versus one-way and thus lack of an immediate feedback loop).

If we compare to things which can be interacted with, the difference is also evident. Just being able to perceive something (through sight, touch, etc) does not make it interactive art, which needs to involve an element of a fluid form shaped by your input. Think a wall at JCube, versus the photo wall at JCube.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_2UcXXTMWo/VCVr5Q6IioI/AAAAAAAAHjA/N8cfHO9sOUA/s1600/DSC01673.JPG
Photo wall at JCube. Click on image for link.

The rest is unclear. Where is the line between “art” and “non-art” drawn? If we justify interactive art as having to involve the element of dynamically changing in response to feedback from the participant(s), would something like a lie detector be considered interactive art?

The only criteria I can come up with is “functionality” versus lack thereof, but it would be full of loopholes.

3) Where will interactive art go in the future and/or how do we integrate interactive art into society

Interactive art is, in a way, already integrated into society. Things like the elevator coming to you when you press a button, where the pressing indicates that you want an elevator (input leads to output) (albeit not very dynamic outputs).

The problem lies in that society is built to be homogeneous. The elevator may not come to you immediately, because it needs to cater to other people first. Or, the button might be too high to reach, or the elevator too small for you to enter. Currently, interactive art is also limited by said homogeneity, where technology has not reached a stage where we can create 100% individualised outputs for every single input.

I suppose the path forward for interactive art would thus involve 1) more time to delve into the subject, to explore more ways in which we can engage interactivity, and 2) further developments in technology as to be able to create even less homogeneity.

If both of these were to come, it would mean that we would be able to revolutionise society, from something which marginalises minorities, into something which can cater to everyone. It would not solve the issue that we still have to share physical resources though (you can’t just build an elevator per person), so interactive art may also be helpful in, at least, making better compromises such that everyone can be somewhat satisfied.

  • Caula, R. (2014). THE UNSEEN develops wind reactive ink that changes color upon contact with air. For designboom. (link).
  • Howarth, D. (2013). Clothes that change colour according to climate by Lauren Bowker. For dezeen. (link).
  • Kimani, N. (2016). Interactive Clothing: The future of fashion is all for connectivity. For The Designers Studio. (link).
  • The Unseen. (link).
  • WIRED. (2018). The Unseen uses chemistry to create reactive fashion. For WIRED. (link).
  • Cover image from here

原行・GENKOU

In Chinese, these two characters mean “origin” and “travel”. In Japanese, it can be read as “genkou”, not unlike the Japanese term for manuscript paper.

Though intentionally left vague, it is meant to embody a sense of undertaking a journey towards the beginning. The violin of the leifmotif, Journey, pushing the song ever forward; the full stop soaring towards the direction from which one begins writing. Surely, the circle of a true ending would break out of the grid, break free of order and structure.

The original idea was as follows:

  • Rhythm-based bullet hell
  • Bullets appear on screen to the beat of the accompanying music
  • Dodge bullets to survive as long as possible
  • (Optional) Make music loop with remixes and increased tempo
  • Otherwise, just loop without progression, or just end it after the first loop
  • Inspired by Just Shapes & Beats, Touhou Project, OSU, Rhythm Heaven, O2Jam, Audition, etc
Just Beats & Shapes, the main visual inspiration. It uses geometric shapes, which are certainly easier to work with than having to animate with sprite sheets.

This was a fairly doable project, where it required quite standard systems: generation, movement, collision, reset and end processes. There were also fairly few necessary elements: the player, the damages and the stage.

I also just wanted to try using my own musical compositions in a game, so I did. MIDIs proved to be a very extensive subject, though, so I opted to convert to WAV and use it as an import than a program-generated sound sequence.

What I did not realise was that I have 1) no prior experience with programming, 2) an affinity for making extremely solid base systems, and 3) an affinity for catering to game quality of life systems. As a result,

Part of said unbreakable foundation includes using various things such as classes, booleans and variables to ensure statements do not encounter critical issues. Debugging was also done extensively, where I tested for every possibility possible that I could think of to ensure there were no loopholes in the code.
  • I spent an excessive amount of time on creating an unbreakable foundation with no critical bugs,
  • succeeded in making said unbreakable foundation, but
An example of millis() usage. Here, millis() is used for timing: for 3000 milliseconds after collision, the player will flicker. In the second case, millis() is used much more dubiously: +83500/soundrate refers to the exact calculated timing of how long should elapse, modified to match a new soundrate.
  • lacked the time to focus on creating the rhythm system,
  • lacked a good idea of how to create said rhythm system,
    • this would later prove to be a major problem, where I discovered that it was fundamentally problematic to use millis() in a system where FPS is unstable
Generation of damage zones, which are all just randomly generated blocks. I had to divide it up into multiple zones too, as it would drop too many frames if too much data was being processed at once. Many issues are evident, such as possibilities of RNG creating poor paths, and using guess and check to figure out how many damage zones to have.
  • lacked engaging gameplay,
    • as damage received is based on time spent in damage zones, it’s very easy to cheese the system by speeding through it fast enough that no damage is received
    • no attempt was made to tailor difficulty levels through formulating paths for players to navigate, as opposed to just random generation
    • this was partially caused by another issue, where input caused far too rapid movement to allow for careful maneuvering
The code used to reset the game, bringing you back to the title screen after the ending cutscene has played (boolean fadedone). Two different ending cutscenes are possible, depending on how far you’ve reached (determined by how much millis() has elapsed).
  • included many quality of life systems
    • such as a loop back to the title screen, removing the need to reset the game by closing and reopening it, or
    • visual feedback for collision occurrence and damage reception, or
    • starting and ending cutscenes
Sprite sheet. For the falling animation, I wasn’t sure how to derive the necessary components from the first array, so I took a simpler route by creating 2 separate sprite arrays.

If we assume quality playability, key issues which would have to be resolved are as follows:

    • Deciding on a direction for engaging gameplay
      • Maze navigating, where the damage zones are instead walls which cannot be bypassed. The player would then have to try to navigate through it, where the death condition is falling off the left side of the screen (think Icy Tower)
      • Rhythm dodging, a la the original idea
    • Fixing the excessively fast movement to allow for proper navigation
      • Kee Yong mentioned inserting a delay on frame checking, such that it does not check for keyPressed on every single frame (which is the reason behind the rapid movement)
    • Editing the damage dealt formula to discourage touching damage zones at all
        • Invincibility frames proved to be beyond my understanding, but I will probably have to eventually make an effort to understand it

      Introduce initial damage, such that at the first moment of impact a certain percentage of damage is dealt, THEN for every subsequent moment spent in the zone, health values are drained

Fixing variables with millis() dependency which are currently using precisely calculated values than variables

    • Using the MIDI files directly and tying timing to that within Processing(I don’t believe this is a good idea, but entirely possible) Cutting up song into portions and tying sequences to the start of each segment of the song

Possible expansions would include the following:

  • An actual ending
    • Currently, set such that death is inevitable. Just a placeholder system, where I do not believe that should be the case, there should be a proper resolution
    • For now, 原 has no function attached (pressing will cause no effect but denial) but perhaps something like a second playthrough will allow it to be selected for a bonus stage?
  • Expanded gameplay
    • Different types of damage dealers. Not just out of bounds zones, but also moving squares, lasers, etc
  • Extended gameplay
    • Different levels and songs
    • Song looped with increasing difficulty (increased tempo, increased damage zones)

Certainly, though, I’ve learnt that I do have glaringly obvious strengths and weaknesses. That I have good awareness of where and why problems could possibly occur (though whether or not I can deduce the solution is another matter), that I have sufficient sensibilities to include easily-overlooked elements which greatly improve gameplay experience, but that I lack awareness of how to create engaging and effective gameplay. That I am good at recognising what is “additional” and knowing what kind of temporary concessions to put to make it seem complete even when incomplete, but that I am lacking in allowing it to remain incomplete, such that it’s difficult to do anything too extensive.

There’s also the fact that programming goes far beyond just games played with computer inputs, which I felt I didn’t consciously realise, like Brendan’s webcam filter program, or Joey’s music visualiser. I’m not sure if I will venture into such areas, since I feel like I haven’t adequately explored game programming (e.g. meta game, animation for visuals, interaction with various kinds of unique objects). It was a good realisation, nevertheless.

Super Normal, otherwise known as Extraordinarily Ordinary

From the chairs of our classrooms to the buses on the roads, there are many designs which have become “normal” to us through exposure. We do not question the design, nor where it originated. We instinctively reach for the folding desk arm on the right, and find it disquieting to feel nothing there. It is simply what it is.

The chair in question. It bears no name and comes in a hundred similar variations, yet there is something about it which is strangely familiar to the student.

“These are objects that make you smile, that demonstrate a high degree of functionality,” Franco Clivio, an artist enthralled by everyday objects, once claimed.

Objects from the Super Normal movement are no different. As observed by Silvana Annicchiarico, designs belonging in this movement are “defined by something that is not present. Or something it doesn’t have”. Where normality is recognised as a hallmark of superior design, the designer’s personal style must be eradicated, so as to prevent expression from overwhelming function. Instead, the design is to be defined by the culmination of human experiences, such that its usage becomes a naturally-developed process that is instinctive and unconscious.

From the Super Normal 2006 exhibition, items which make you question “where have I never seen you before”. It seems as though every household in the world has something similar. There is a certain remarkability to how commonplace these items can be, making it extraordinarily ordinary.

A modern movement predicated on the philosophy of phenomology, Super Normal was only formally conceptualised in 2006 by Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison. Fukasawa aptly summarises the objective as “the continuation of a good relationship that has been around for a long time… than anticipating something new”. Where design often goes through a cycle of expansion and compression, Super Normal tends towards compression, in removing what is unnecessary to leave only what has been established by phenomena. Some may consider this a traditionalist approach which rejects innovation, though it may also be lauded for tackling modern problems of excess and chaos caused by a surplus of individualistic designs.

Regardless, this movement consequently encourages designers to be “less concerned with the visual aspects of an object’s character, and… anticipate the object’s likely impact on the atmosphere and how it will be to live with” (Morrison, 2006). As suggested by his words, the physical form should not be the priority, where it is but a consequent of how it should be engaged. This is in direct contrast to many design movements which boast unique visual styles, such as Memphis, which prides itself on its colourfulness and geometry. This does not, however, cause Super Normal to fall into a category of “soulless design”, as feared by Memphis advocates. The experiences of many provides the Super Normal design with a longstanding relationship, such that it has a soul derived from intimacy and recognition, to the extent that it has “become invisible” (Fukasawa, 2006). As such, it can be argued that Super Normal has a superior soul in having been formed by group phenomena, as opposed to the individual designer.

An example of Memphis. There is a clear attempt to attract attention and assert the brand through the vibrant colours and unique shapes. It clearly does not prioritise the user experience, where the numbers are missing, and users must interpret for themselves which clock hand is which.

Though lacking in anonymity, this watch embodies certain values of Super Normal: absolute simplicity and functionality to the extent that it is commonly used by cadets, and intuitive to use in the cleanliness of its design.

Despite its dependence on phenomena, one can still consider Super Normal as a “form follows function” design approach. This is because functionality is, in fact, derived from human experience. The pencil is shaped as it is because human experience has determined that such a form gives rise to the best way to hold a pencil. There is nothing which prevents said human experience from evolving, and giving rise to a new form with a better way of engaging the pencil. While Super Normal does not concern itself with shaping such new relationships, the movement emphasises effective existing relationships. If a new relationship becomes the norm, Super Normal would likely not reject it, and instead seek to preserve it.

An example of evolving relationships, this picture depicts the oldest known pencil, dating back to the 17th century. Already, the realisation that a pencil must not be rounded (to avoid rolling off the table) and must be encased (to prevent the fragile graphite from breaking) is present. Yet, we see that the pencil has evolved over time: mechanical pencils are considered absolutely normal now, even if they may have been considered as having excessive features in the past (refillable, etc).

It must be noted that, as a result of said functionality being dependent on human experience, Super Normal designs are fundamentally context sensitive. Many examples listed in this essay are not universal, and are ordinary only in certain contexts. For example, candles are unusual in Singapore, but not so in the Netherlands. Super Normal designs thus have a predetermined universe of discourse in which said designs are effective, and are otherwise ineffective.

With all this in mind, it would not be a stretch to claim that this movement existed in some form long before its formal inception.

Informal examples might include products which we often see in our everyday life, which have become so ordinary that we rarely question them, such as paperclips, egg cartons or sponges. Though subtle variations exist, from elephant-shaped paperclips to the inclusion of a hard layer on the sponge, it is often easy to use them effectively. This is simply because the form is often so universal that we will always intuitively know how to operate it. Certainly, too, these examples predate the formal naming of the movement.

A porcelain jar of the mingei movement. Though anonymous and simple, what stands out, which distinguishes it from Super Normal, is an overwhelming admiration for the wabisabi aesthetic inherent in its rustic simplicity.

The Ora Lattera minimalist watch. Even the lines of the clock hands are eliminated in favour of dots. You would have to think carefully to know what time it is, thus lacking the unconscious and automatic engagement of Super Normal.

Elements of Super Normal are also vaguely suggested by other formal movements. Mingei (民芸), which means “arts of the people”, venerates everyday objects created by anonymous craftsmen for the purpose of functionality than beauty. Minimalism encourages the philosophy of “less is more”, through the reduction of objects to only the necessary elements. The difference, however, lies in what is ultimately considered superior design: Mingei considers superior design one which is touched by the craftsmen’s rustic simplicity; minimalism, one which is strictly functional and without embellishments. Super Normal endorses neither, where superior design is derived from the normalcy attained from human experience alone: rustic charm and functionality are only accepted if it is part of the universal norm.

An even earlier influence might include the Industrial Revolution. Due to rising consumer demand and a change in manufacturing processes (from artisan-based to machinery-based), there was a rise in mass produced objects with uniform designs. These designs would have been created in a way that it could easily appeal to anyone, and efficiently enough to reach anyone as well. An example would be Thonet’s No. 14 chair, which is now so automatically associated with cafes that, even without a name or designer, it is intuitively known and universally accepted as the bistro chair. Though it is debatable if designers then actively saw normality as superior design (thus distinguishing it from Super Normal), they certainly championed normality as efficient and functional.

The chair in question. Features exist solely for functionality, such as the woven seat to allow split liquids to seep through, or braces to support the chair. Many people are unlikely to know its name and designer, but may recognise it as “that one chair you see in cafes”.

An apt summary might be as follows, that

  1. Super Normal is defined by the absence of individualistic qualities as opposed to an ordinariness unconsciously acknowledged by the people,
  2. Said ordinariness is often developed through the culmination of human experiences through exposure over time,
  3. Super Normal prioritises existing effective relationships and disdains the formation of unnecessary new ones,
  4. Super Normal forms can tend towards functionality without compromising on the object’s character,
  5. Super Normal design can engage functionality due to the nature of functionality as a byproduct of phenomena,
  6. Super Normal design is context sensitive, and
  7. Super Normal qualities have always existed in some form, such as in a) everyday objects and b) other movements

Especially in the clutter of modernity, normalcy is essential to retaining our sanity. That we are all constantly engaging various different objects without suffering sensory overload suggests that Super Normal is unconsciously and inseparably integrated into our everyday lives. Perhaps it would be worthwhile, then, to appreciate these things, which discreetly support us daily without expecting any form of recognition.

(Word Count: 1159 words)

References

  • Ito, F. (2006). naoto + jasper = super normal. For Domus. (link).
  • McGuickin, G. (N.A.). Jasper Morrison: Extraordinarily Ordinary. For Decoist. (link).
  • Morrison, J. (2006). Super Normal. For Jasper Morrison. (link).
  • Popova, M. (N.A.). The Surprising History of the Pencil. For Brain Pickings. (link).
  • Stinson, E. (2014). Look at All These Design Masterpieces, Created by Anonymous Geniuses. For Wired. (link).
  • TOKI. (2016). Mingei – The Revival of Japanese Folk Art. For TOKI. (link).
  • Felicia’s essay on Memphis
  • Johnathan’s essay on the Industrial Revolution
  • Things that Ash said

Image Sources

Zine Designing Process (with supporting Research)

EDIT (17/4, 1100h): Added peer comments.

(Final posting found here.)

On the last episode, we investigated a government coverup in a place where everyone had disappeared. This episode, we draft up a report for higher management, with extremely consistent assistance from Shirley.

… Or so was the underlying idea. Upon beginning the creative process for the zine, I contemplated 2 directions in which it could go:

  1. A conspiracy report on a mysterious, unexplained disappearance
    • Drawing upon the aesthetic approach I took for the Project 2A slides
    • Either a) a broad overview of all investigated portions (spray painting, trash, etc),
    • or b) an in-depth analysis of a certain portion (e.g. spray painting only)
  2. A post-apocalypse journal on the landscape of after the end
    • Drawing upon the idea of exploring a dead world
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/life-is-strange-w/images/8/87/Diario_de_Max_-_Corrompido.png/revision/latest?cb=20160114234600&path-prefix=es
From Life is Strange (2015 game), the journal of the protagonist. If I had gone with the idea of the end of the world, it might have looked something like this, with many illustrations, perhaps a few photos pasted in.

Eventually, though, I settled for the conspiracy report, considering that it would be more aligned to Part A, and that I had a clearer idea of how it would look.

After which, I considered two report styles: a typewritten report style, or a journalistic report style.

http://www.mischievouspeeps.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/FBI_02-resized.jpg
From an FBI report. I found the many layers of stamps, blackouts and annotations rather appealing to look at, especially when put against the neatness of the typewritten report. However, it was limited in terms of colour palette, and the orderliness of the fundamental structure.
https://jostwald.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/notesexamplenotepaper0011.jpg
No suitable reference exists, but the general idea of hastily taking notes while on the move. Scribbling down notes, taking instant photos and making quick, short comments. (I would later learn that this is, in essence, a sort of messy scrapbooking.)

Eventually, I settled on the journalistic report, owing to more flexibility in terms of more dynamic compositions.

CONTENT

First, I established the flow of the zine through determining the content. At this point I had yet to decide whether to have broader or deeper content, and thus went for broadness first, assigning each 2-page spread (folio?) a specific content. The flow would then be as followed:

  • Remains: implication that people were there, but are currently missing
  • Corresponds to slide 9 of Part A
  • Images of bikes and trash

  • Obscuration: implication that something is being concealed
  • Corresponds to slides 13-14
  • Images of fences, barriers, etc.
  • Symbols: implication that there is an undecipherable secret message
  • Corresponds to slide 11
  • Images of spray painted symbols and numbers


For the first draft, I designed based around the many photographs I had, opting not to use many hand-drawn elements to emphasise the notion of “quickly taking notes” with photography than sketches. The second draft onwards mostly includes minor edits to make it look more realistic, as well as complete upheavals of design for certain pages.

COVER

For the front and back cover, I was uncertain of what to do, and thus tried to think of it in terms of associated images. Thus, I considered the character 目, for the following reasons:

  • As a Chinese character, it links back to the Chinese name of Xilin
  • As a word related to “eye”, it evokes the eye of the Illuminati (conspiracy)
  • As a character with “bars”, it resembles the many fences of obscuration
  • As a character with three “windows”, each window corresponds to a folio of information
I was also curious as to the notion of having an image carry over from the front page to the back page.

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Remove design elements which cannot be immediately understood without explanation

Thus, I shelved that character. After settling on the conspiracy report idea, I decided to go for a certain look, that of the brown case file folder.

However, I wasn’t quite sure WHAT to do with the kraft paper texture, until Shirley suggested to mimic the case file. When I expressed concern over that it would look too rigid, she suggested to just have it as a background, while keeping the title in the foreground and distinct from it.

 

For some reason, the above designs instantly evoke an idea of the report, and thus I made sure to include key defining elements.

The title on the folder, the table cells, the brown textured background, and the stamps. (I lowered the opacity on the background text to emphasise the foreground.) With the background and foreground distinct from each other, there’s more opportunity for dynamism. I did try to get the stamps to interact with the title, though, in an attempt to show a certain level of depth.

REMAINS

In this page, I was uncertain what to do, and thus opted to focus on creating suitable spaces for text through proper positioning of images. Consequently, I tried to have balance by putting the images diagonally opposite such that it wouldn’t be too image-heavy on any particular side. To incorporate the element of haphazardly pasting photographs in, I skewed the images as well.

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Insert a map (I decided this would be the best place to, and thus proceeded to do so)
  • Have an introduction than jump straight into content
While digitalising, I cut the edges rather rigidly with the Polygonal Lasso Tool to mimic scissors cutting. It also did not originally come with masking tape, which was added as an afterthought (and to provide some level of depth).

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Reduce opacity of masking tape, to appear translucent than opaque
  • Too much vertical height of text without sufficient counteracting horizontal pull
  • Lack of visual hierarchy
  • Use drop caps to indicate the beginning of text

The images still appeared extremely unreal due to its flatness. Thus, I printed it out and slightly marred the papers by crumpling and folding them. For some, I tore the images slightly, or made a dog ear. Then, I scanned them back in.

In black and white due to being a test run (and saving ink). I also added in a proper map and annotations, where the map is meant to look hand-drawn. I also tried changing the ink colour to resemble handwriting. To try and counter the vertical pull/hierarchy issue, I shifted the milk carton and map to provide more space, to increase the font size, and make the textbox horizontally wider. Shirley also suggested actively having a colour palette (e.g. triadic), and some minor edits as to text hierarchy and drop caps.

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Have a conscious colour palette (e.g. triadic, owing to the yellow bike/can, blue milk carton cap, and perhaps red text)
  • Only use drop caps for the first beginning
  • Have varied fonts for dynamism (e.g. typewritten font for the map or annotations, font weight)
  • Improve the map (logos to indicate MRT stations, reduce font size)
Final. In line with the change to a typewritten font, I changed the map to a digitalised map than the previous handdrawn version (the vectorised arrows, too). I also altered font weight for the hierarchy.

OBSCURATION

In this page, I considered a grid system, which would resemble the bars of a chain-link fence. At the same time, this would be helpful in limiting the amount of text while providing many spaces for images.

I felt that it would make for an interesting image, the lines of the fences against the lines of the grid system

Shirley had no comments for this, and thus I went ahead with it.

Upon digitalising, however, it turned out to be too neat, owing to the orderliness of the grid as opposed to the less rigid layouts of the other pages.

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Change the design altogether, to something with a less orderly design
As such, it became a corkboard, which is typically messy. Initially, I had the text on InDesign-rendered white squares, but it was too neat, thus I printed, corrupted, and scanned them back in. I also added drop shadows to provide some sense of depth.

While I was concerned about the colours in this page, Shirley assuaged my doubts in pointing out a seemingly high level of green, accented by subtle reds, and the brown corkboard. I decided that it was important to try changing the text colour, regardless.

Final. Other than being complementary, I find that the green and red helps to differentiate what is “crucial” and what isn’t, where red is often an accent while green depicts the main subject.

SYMBOLS

In lacking a substantial design idea, I followed the first spread’s idea of haphazardly putting images to reduce space. I considered the use of negative space, where I would have a scatter brush of graffiti as the border, leaving negative space as the text box.

An example.

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Use a concrete background instead for the texture
However, this structure simply did not work due to too much text space available even with an overload of images. Also, the structure was too similar to the first spread, which makes it rather boring.

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Full-page image with 1 column of text on the side
(Additional graffiti in black and white as I printed and crumpled and rescanned) It worked a lot better in terms of limiting text space while remaining aesthetically pleasing due to the rule of third. I also tried to have a sense of depth by having slight perspective.

Shirley had no comments for this specific page, but in line with her comments on colour, I figured to actively consider the colours on this page. The graffiti I have only comes in white and blue, and the concrete is grey.

Final. In the end, it remains blue, the only colour with hue.

BACK COVER

I was uncertain as to what to do with the back, considering that there is typically nothing on the back of a report. Using my imagination, then, I figured that it was not improbable that one might put additional notes on the back, to be read after reading the report. As such, I attempted that.

It did come off somewhat awkward, though.

Shirley’s suggestions:

  • Place the content on a post-it note instead
Final.

PEER COMMENTS

Some of the more common comments:

  • More high-res images
    • wasn’t sure if it was high res enough, so good to know
  • More plays on visual hierarchy, esp. on 2nd and 3rd spreads, e.g. by putting titles/more info
    • While I’m unsure if it’s wise to add unnecessary information, point is taken :’)
  • More sketches, doodles, annotations
    • no tablet so a bit hard but good to know :’)
  • Last spread not as interesting, not consistent design
    • In hindsight, agree. Perhaps it might have been useful to let the spray painted images splay over the edges of the background image such that it looks less like a properly designed page as opposed to many scattered images placed over a properly formatted page.
  • (varying opinions, some said it was good but a few said) font choice was slightly kiddish than strict
    • Not sure what to make of this personally
  • Consistency between cover pages and inside content, e.g. paper clips, post-its, folder tabs, etc
    • Another good point in hindsight :’)
  • More exaggerated narration, like Geronimo Stilton
    • Which I have… Never read but point taken :’)

OVERALL

All in all, it’s amazing how many issues seem so obvious in hindsight, but went completely undetected by me. To me, the most interesting part was that of trying to “collage” successfully: unlike illustrations, it’s difficult to control the proportions, perspective, colours. This made it somewhat difficult to me, in that I had to find ways to make the images work in my favour. While I picked by gut feeling, it seems that somehow my instincts managed to choose images with consistent colour palettes, surprisingly, which made things slightly easier.

I also felt like I learned a lot about graphic design just through experimentation and Shirley’s remarks, from text hierarchy to style consistency to variety (listening in on other peoples’ consultations was also surprisingly helpful!). I’d like to thank Shirley for being so helpful throughout the entire project. Thanks Shirley for being so helpful throughout the entire project!

3 years ago, I mused that, someday, A Level History would cover the rise of the Internet as a full-fledged topic. It’s an important historical event, after all. There’d be so many possible subtopics, and all the Gen Z kids would love it. Still waiting though.

Social Broadcasting: An Unfinished Communications Revolution. This is the theme of the symposium, and a phrase saturated with meaning. As quoted by Packer,

Gene Youngblood signals the need for “a communications revolution… an alternative social world” that decentralises the experience of the live broadcast through the creative work of collaborative communities’. (link)

And yet, this complete upheaval of the way we communicate is still “unfinished”. The symposium thus explores this notion of networked communication as a way to open the way to that new world order.

To understand how the social broadcast is revolutionary, we must first understand the live broadcast. Loosely, it is defined as media which is broadcast without a significant delay. The most primitive forms of broadcast would include one-way transmissions, such as with television. However, as Chatzichristodolou (note: will be referred to as Maria X for convenience) states in her keynote, there is another definition of “liveness”, that of something which is “infinitely open to interaction, transformation and connection”. This is a concept which has led the broadcast onto a completely new path, continuously reshaping the “broadcast” into something much more communal, allowing for communication between, than merely to, people.

Screenshot from Maria Chatzichristodoulou’s keynote.

As suggested above, Maria X, who spoke on the first day, provided a clear view of key definitions. A “performance scholar”, she also spoke at length on the historical context of networked art, and how that works together with internationalism. From Paik’s Global Groove, we see a statement on his envisioned future of the “phenomenal effect” of globalised dissemination. From Satellite Arts we see the “possibilities and limitations of new technologies… to create and augment a new context and environment” (Maria X, 2018). It is interesting to see that many of these artists work in groups, since networked art necessitates interaction with other humans.

Picking up after the keynote, Annie Abrahams expanded on this idea of the need for accompaniment, with the debut of Online Ensemble – Entanglement Training. As the name suggests, the performance was an ensemble, one which can only work with a group, one supported by the natural disadvantage of being unable to synchronise digitally.

Screenshot from Online Ensemble. Voices state numbers dispassionately at random intervals, and all of them show something white near them. By nature of being a culmination of different people, the message becomes an aggregation of inputs, than a single person’s.

In response to a remark that it was difficult to work together, Abrahams mentioned that one can be “not in the same time and same place, but can still play together… in this entanglement of people and machines”. This is rather in line with an earlier remark that “her artworks primarily tackle “communication and the difficulty with communicating at all”.

Screenshot from Online Ensemble. Together, the performers speak and place objects, at seemingly random intervals, with no seeming connection whatsoever.

It is evident that synchronisation is not particularly crucial since the artwork is essentially an improvised performance. The randomness of non-vetted phrases is important: phrases like “don’t ask for the truth if you can’t handle it”, “I’m sorry babe, I’m afraid I can’t do that”, “suddenly we become scared to change something” have no meaning on their own, only what we interpret on our own. As aptly put by Dixon, it is very much a fluxus work, where direction is not as important as non or omni-direction.

http://www.lasalle.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/about_presidentswelcome_professor-steve-dixon-358x430.jpg
From LASALLE College of the Arts. Image of Steve Dixon, the current President, who gave the opening statement for the second day.

Dixon further elaborates on the nature of modern forms of art which come with new technologies on the second day. As previously asserted by Paik, the relationship between art and new technology is as old as art itself, from the Egyptians’ pyramids to satellite art. Relating the story of Henry Thoreau, who could not understand the purpose of the phone, Dixon explains that “although man talks to accomplish something, unawares, he soon begins to talk, simply, to talk”. It is rarely about whether there is a purpose, as to that it has come into existence, forming new relationships and new ways of thinking. Consequently, modern art emerges as a form of exploration into these “new processes in communicational processes”.

Another example he gives is that of Blast Theory, neatly tying into a quaint introduction for Matt Adams, its founder. Delving into the intricacies of simultaneously existing in reality and irreality, Blast Theory works with the idea of connecting people remotely, and the possibilities which come with that idea. It is perhaps even this which gives the theme of the day, of Networking the Real & the Fictional. In fact, it is almost a pity that Adams was not able to execute an interactive work with the audience on the spot, which may have brought the point across even more pertinently by nature of its interactivity, as opposed to speaking at length on past works and the intentions behind them.

Screenshot of Matt Adams’ presentation on Blast Theory.

 

Regardless, the various works presented are interesting, showcasing what was then a brand new style of (mostly) game-based interaction based on an augmented reality of sorts. Uncle Roy All Around You, for example, asks questions without providing a frame, making it uncertain as to if it is something out of the game or in the game. Neither can work without the other, and yet the boundaries between “reality” and this second “reality but also not really” are blurred, creating a super reality. Many games nowadays attempt, in some way or another, to replicate that crossing of reality and the digital world.

As later addressed in the Q&A, the works are also curiously tied in with the idea of control. As stated by Packer, it is often about making people acutely aware of their given or taken control, such as in Kidnap (1998). “It shapes our lives that the media has control over us,” Packer suggested, and I am not inclined to disagree. For example, as previously studied in class, we see that it is often not about acting in the capacity of a president, than acting as a president. The media has a lot of control over the narrative, and can even affect crucial national decisions.

Screenshot from igaies. While the xxxtraprincesses read while being in the same space, Sifuentes is too there in the same space but in a different perspective. And yet, at the same time, Constantini is in Mexico performing another piece altogether at the same time.

The symposium ends off with the debut of igaies (intimate glitches across internet errors), a strangely neat summary of the topics of the previous days. Personally, it is fascinating that it is pronounced as “gaze”, perhaps leaving it as a statement on its online nature (iGaies), on the connection formed by eye contact (gaze).

Jon Cates and collaborators are currently developing a series of multifarious and differentiated performance works that coalesce into what Cates refers to as igaies (intimate glitches across internet errors) – small miraculous mistakes, moments of beautiful brokenness – all fused together as a single improvisatory, real-time sensory overload of noise, blood, hashtags, fetishism, sexuality, memes, and #cutestuff. (link)

As implied by the above quote, the key idea is of glitches. Even on a more “real” perspective, though, simultaneous perspectives and/or performances hint at some sort of “glitch”, where there logically shouldn’t be an overlap to allow proper focus on the appropriate artworks. These “multifarious” artworks even appear to clash, from the girlish xxxtraprincesses to the gory leeches. Despite this, it makes a strange sort of sense. Constantini brings to the table his works on petri dishes, the image of bacteria tying in with Sifuentes’ leeches. Cates drops a beat while Constantini’s electronic sound pervades the scene. The xxxtraprincesses bring to the table a tale of revolution, all while embracing internet culture. Memes, hashtags, digital avatars all find a place here, and Nacif herself identifies as a gURL, stating that she finds this typo-ed term to “have a multiplicity and simultaneity” which gIRL does not. Sifuentes, too, brings a tale of revolution, but gorier, in the form of exsanguination, defined as “a process of mourning and cleansing with leeches being ritualistically applied to his body” on the Third Space Network.

Screenshot from igaies. While Holloway performs on sexuality and objectification, Constantini has a strangely relevant drawing.

Something I was particularly struck by was the vibrancy of the chatroom, too. There could be the simplicity of one word reactions to which you’re obviously not meant to respond, to drawn out interpretations which can begin conversations on its own, to added insight on the artworks being presented. (See below for audience links which I spotted on Day 3.)

Abrahams said something to the same effect:

Sometimes I even think that the chatroom is more important than what is actually happening between the performers. Both complete each other. And I also try to have some people in the chatroom who know what it is all about, so they can mediate between people and create a live/nice atmosphere.

While I am uncertain as to if she said “nice” or “live”, I prefer to think of it as both. Niceness creates a welcoming community which connects the audience to each other; liveness brings forth the connection between the audience and the artist(s). Overall, though, it is beyond doubt that the medium truly brings out the theme: I could hardly imagine these artworks being presented traditionally. Though I believe that there are ways in which the symposium could have stretched the social broadcast medium even more to communicate even better, it is certainly remarkable, considering that the revolution has yet to be finished.

 

Featured image from Adams’ presentation video on Uncle Roy All Around You.

Project 2 Research, and a semblance of Process

Project 2 Part 1 slides found here.

“If you’re going to go somewhere, might as well go all the way,” I said to myself, and that’s how I found myself wishing I hadn’t had the superb idea of riding the entire Downtown Line and beyond.

In all seriousness, though, the East is probably the most unknown to me, in that I have literally never been there apart from Changi, simply because I have never had any need to go there. Thus, I decided to look at the MRT map and find a nice sounding Eastern place to go to. Preferably, one I’ve never even heard of, because why not?

Also, I opted to go for DTL. Being the newest line, it probably also has newer and less well-established stations. Going beyond existing stations to DT36 Xilin also reaped fruitful puns involving “ceiling”, “east” and “forest”, which caught my attention.

 

THE JOURNEY

My first impressions on the way there from Expo was that it was a quiet area. Sure, there were a decent number of people at the bus stop, a mall, and the Expo to boot, but even the roads were almost eerily silent. That, and the general ability to see the sky clearly: many places tend to have tall buildings which obscure the skyline, but here, there was so little going on that it was somewhat easy on the eyes, having so few elements. The further I walked, the less populated the roads became. Awkwardly enough, this was pretty much the same on my second trip (in all fairness, both days were Saturdays).

Welcome to Xilin! As suggested on the shown map, this building is a marker of the junction between Xilin and South Ave 1.

As it turns out, Xilin is a somewhat significant road, and as such traffic exists, even if at a constantly low rate. While the roads may have had cars, though, the sidewalks were empty save for me. My guess is that the absence of people also had to do with the time of the day and the time of the year: as far as I could tell, Xilin was an industrial area, what with the many company-based buildings and general lack of HDBs. In fact, I don’t even think anyone was working, considering the lack of industrial sound, the lack of people leaving the buildings to go home, and the fact that it was a Saturday and the 2nd day of Lunar New Year to boot.

 

DOCUMENTATION OF AREA

PLEASE NOTE THAT quite a few of my photos and videos have been deleted as they involve the train depot, which, as it turns out, is a restricted area (I was hunted down by security).

I took a lot of photos, but for convenience’s sake, I’ve grouped them not by chronology, but by visual/thematic similarities. To avoid information overload, I’ve refrained from posting all pictures pertaining to said category. (This is the semblance of process part, where I mostly chose to photograph things on a whim, and later tried to determine why I had felt the urge to.)

  • Obfuscation
  • A lot of places were fenced up or hidden behind walls, and so it became a prominent part of the journey, to peek through various holes to see what the construction or industrial site looks like. Or, in general, to see how perception is warped.

 

  • Plants
  • Nothing new, but I was vaguely fascinated by some plants which I either have never noticed, or have never seen, especially the fuzzy, cross-shaped golden weeds.
  • Trash
  • What’s new, really! Trash is everywhere! Worker gloves and shoes were a somewhat unique but unsurprising trash, but I didn’t really find them interesting, so I neglected to photograph them.
  • Spray-painting
  • Weird markings on the ground and various things. You see this everywhere, really, but never quite question it. And yet, some of them form patterns in terms of repeated images, or colours, or numerical sequences.
  • OFO bicycles
  • While not new knowledge to me, it’s still interesting that industrial areas often have a lot of bicycles lying around, because it’s convenient for workers, where there are few buses, and it’s often flat and long stretches with practically no one to crash into.
  • Signs
  • Not unexpected for restricted or dangerous sites. What’s interesting, though, is variations of a sign meaning the same thing, or just how there ARE many different types of signs.
  • Peoplelessness
  • I’m still awestruck by how quiet it is.
Few images fall into this category alone, but it is the idea of the “index”, in the traces of humanity though there is no one in sight. (e.g. OFO bikes, trash, tyre tracks, etc). Or even the fact that there are buildings and construction sites at all, a testament to our existence.
  • The Sky
  • Like I mentioned, often not blocked, giving a fairly good view. Sometimes has planes too.


(that’s the train depot) All in all there really isn’t any sound but that of the strong wind, passing cars, the occasional train, and the occasional bird.

All in all, I have mixed feelings about the place. There is little sound but the wind, rushing cars and occasional bird, but it’s not really a peaceful quietness, not even melancholic or eerie. Instead, it’s more like silence, sterile and stagnant, devoid of people, of scent, anything. Indeed, it might be refreshing compared to the bustle of a shopping mall, but it lacks organic serenity, which leaves me feeling somewhat disoriented. There is a difference between solitariness and desolation, after all.

Xilin, in fact, reminds me strongly of various other industrial areas, such as Senoko Way or Joo Koon Road, just much less populated in that there doesn’t appear to be any of the usual local coffee shops to cater to workers. Additionally, it is surprisingly close to a reknown location, the Singapore Expo, and the Changi City Point shopping mall. In itself, though, the only differentiating quality is perhaps just that there is the Changi train depot.

In the end, though, it’s a place which can easily become rumour fodder, due to its low profile and desolation. It has the makings of a post-apocalyptic location, not unlike the feeling you might get when you come out of a shelter to find that the world has ended.

It also has potential to sound exactly like the site of a government conspiracy, where a lot is covered up, or can be viewed with suspicion. Perhaps my zine would be a thesis for a conspiracy, or a documentation of the end of the humanity.