窒息 [ASPHYXIA]
Educational Exhibition Design
Tokyo, Japan
Suicide has become a serious and extremely costly global health problem, affecting people of different ages, cultures, and socioeconomic groups.
The exhibit creates a “space of consciousness”, that allows the audience to develop an understanding of sympathy by recognizing another person’s suffering. The audience is led through a visceral experience trying to evoke a feeling of deep empathy for the struggles, fears and pain a suicidal person faces everyday. Through this emotional experience this exhibition tries to promote a consciousness for people to take care of themselves within others, thus building a deeper human connection based on care and understanding.
BACKGROUND
[Did you ever feel like you are suffocating …?]
The World Health Organization estimates a suicide is committed every 40 seconds. Suicide has become a serious and extremely costly global health problem, affecting people of different ages, cultures, and socioeconomic groups. Every death is a tragedy for family, friends and colleagues. The main reason causing the tragic is that they can’t receive fair and equal treatment and be treated with respect. What’s worse than the disease is the backwardness of social recognition and the infringement on human rights.
SITE
Tokyo, Japan
The location selected at Maruai Station Square, which is in front of Tokyo Station. Many young people choose to jump track to end their life.
The target audience is focus on someone on the verge of suicide or who attamping sucidcial already with struggling long time. It is also target on someone who without any knowleage about suicide.
The online ticketing system require link to social media such as twitter and facebook. The AI system will easily access personal statues when people buythe ticket online. The purpose of this system is to use techology to distinguish the vistors’ mental state.
DIGITAL PLATFORM
ONLINE TICKETING SYSTEM
POSTER
SPATIAL
DIAGRAM
The exhibition installations are sequential and curated to communicate messages of awareness, familiarity, and reflection. In order to guide visitors through a clear understanding of suicide experience, “窒息” is set muti-experience in a one-direction circulation with a clear entrance and exit.
"Wrapped"
"Locked"
"Squeezed"
"Sinked"
"Seating"
"Resting"
"Playing"
"Chating"
"Enjoying"
“Falling“
“Hell“
“In The Cage“
“In Your Eyes“
"Hold"
"Spot"
EXIHIBTION CIRCULATION
Ceiling
Mezzanine
"Spot"
Exihibtion
Back / Exit
“Falling“
“Hell“
“In The Cage“
“In Your Eyes“
"Hold"
Front / Entrance
EXPERIENCE
Facade
The entrance is set as a sharp angle that brings visitors into a narrow and dims space to create a heavy feeling. Shuttling through this narrow path, visitors can feel a sense of composure.
Falling / Information Wall
The information of the exhibition on the angled wall is accompanied by flickering light slowly turn to extinguished on the screen. Visitors can feel life falling like a star through this space.
Hell
Turn a corner, the ballons displayed separate in different enclosed box.The actual descrpiton of the person who committed suicide is on each ballon, are set along the space’s interior perimeter and presented within customized system of vitrines. The enclosed boxes layout is designed to protect those “actual experience”, the visitor can push the button below the “window” which is intimately experienced all those truth through a series of small openings that reveal each “case”.
In The Cage
Locked / Wrapped / Sinked / Squeezed
By understanding about some of the real cases of people who commit suicide, people could see a new narrower way. Near the entrance of this narrower way, both left and right wall have emmessive light spread out. It warn vistor that they are step closer to the “feeling of suffocation” experience. People who are completely unguarded will suddenly walk into a dark space. A “CLUNK” sound made by the slammed shut cage door, people find they are being locked in this dark space.
A really dark space. Only light source from the small holes on the wall. There are contained sensors installed on the wall. The sensitivity will be triggered when people instinctively touch them in the dark environment, and different sounds are released: alarm, footsteps, door knocking, wheezing, etc. These seemingly ordinary sounds could cause people who attemp suicide feel extreme tension and fear at home alone.
A narrow space where only allowed one person can pass it. Both the left and right side have soft foam wrapped them in, which bring the unbreath feeling to visitors. The light enters the space through the boundary of the ceiling which is guiding the person in the right direction. A weak light at the exit makes people eager to close to the end of the “box”.
By understanding about some of the real cases of people who commit suicide, people could see a new narrower way. Near the entrance of this narrower way, both left and right wall have emmessive light spread out. It warn vistor that they are step closer to the “feeling of suffocation” experience. People who are completely unguarded will suddenly walk into a dark space. A “CLUNK” sound made by the slammed shut cage door, people find they are being locked in this dark space.
In Your Eyes / Screen Projection
After people get out of the “box”. They can look around the real huge room. Standing outside this space, people may be puzzled: what kind of experience they are just taking? The experience they just took is projected on the surrounding screen shows the truth of every single moment.
Those terrifying scenes are the reality that most people who attemp suicide have to grapple with. They suffer not only from illness, but also from people’s misunderstanding, intolerance, and refusal to listen at the same time.
After people get out of the “box”. They can look around the real huge room. Standing outside this space, people may be puzzled: what kind of experience they are just taking? The experience they just took is projected on the surrounding screen shows the truth of every single moment.
Hold
Resting / Seating / Chating / Enjoying / Playing
A positive space with bright light shot into the space that was created for people to vent their emotions. People could take a moment to do anything they want in this space, such as, they can lay down, talk with people, order drinks, and play with puppies. They can choose to leave also.
A positive space with bright light shot into the space that was created for people to vent their emotions. People could take a moment to do anything they want in this space, such as, they can lay down, talk with people, order drinks, and play with puppies. They can choose to leave also.
Spot / Consult
It is on the second floor, which helps suicidal people start trying to open their mind and trying to communicate with others. The staff will lead them on the second floor if people really need help. Caring from strangers or from the people who have similar experiences can make them feel a sense of warmth, especially in Japan.
CONSTRUCTION DRAWING
PHYSICAL MODEL
