“Panic is the sudden realisation that everything around you is alive.” — William S. Burroughs
This interactive exhibit aims to initiate psychological introspection through the manipulation of tension and human emotion.
View on Vimeo @ https://vimeo.com/371916482
Who :
General Public w/ specificity to Office Workers (ages 30 and above)
What :
Standing in front of the colour changing LED screen, participants will watch a looped video of 3 minutes and 40 seconds. If they stayed till the end of the video, a daisy will be given to them to take home. 🌼
Where :
2ft by 4ft outdoor LED Screen at Raffles Place Park (the open area above Raffles Place MRT)
Why :
Raffles Place is the heart of Singapore’s Financial District and there is overly concentrated number of banks there. As we all know, with money and time involved,
With loads of time and money involved in that area of the country, people there that I’ve passed by live their lives in an uptight and carry a serious disposition.
When (Operational hours) :
Monday-Friday: 12pm-3pm and 5pm-9pm
Saturday: 12pm-5pm
A majority of Singapore firms and businesses have their employees work 8-hour shifts with an hour lunch break in between, usually from 1pm-2pm. On Saturdays, employees that return for work usually do shifts from 9am-1pm as the maximum work hours per week are capped at 44.
I wanted to match the timings of the showings to that of the office workers’ schedule to ensure the highest possible outreach to my target audiences. By limiting the timings, I can also have more control over the whole exhibition as staff would be able to have comfortable working hours with well-rested breaks in between. Electricity conservation would also be possible and it would be a win-win situation.
How :
People who walk past the exhibit will inevitably be drawn towards the large and brightly coloured LED screen in the middle of the park. Upon closer observation, they will come to see the instructional tag, “Find Me.” and the time counter at the bottom right corner of the screen.
My anticipated first reaction would be them asking themselves, “Find what??” as there is no prior context or explanation provided. Alternating between staring at the plain colour changing screens and the instructional tag, it will come to a point where they give up and approach the staff in which he/she will give them a daisy.
A daisy represents symbolises innocence and purity likewise as represented by children and the colour white. In the animated movie, Tangled, Rapunzel’s Healing Incantation goes:
Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mineHeal what has been hurt
Change the Fates’ design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mineWhat once was mine
Here, I use the daisy, as commonly seen in Rapunzel’s hair in white and yellow to represent childhood and its corresponding memories. By instilling confusion and possibly tension at the beginning of the experience, cognitive interactivity allows for me to engage with the participants’ mind and trigger the reminiscing of memories. The main goal of the exhibition is for the participants to realise in his/her own time that sometimes we all need to slow down and relive the carefree days of the past instead of living our lives all too uptight.
A small bundle of old childhood snacks and candy will also be given to the participant alongside the daisy to enhance the desired outcome of the cognitive interactivity.
“Stop rushing. Slow down and enjoy the beauty of life.” ―
