Design as Alternate Reality | Pratt Institute School of Design

In popular culture, the exploitation of escapism under the influence of hypercapitalism has reached a saturation point. Materialist culture eradicates individualism and morphs it into an efficient conduit for escapism. Such escapism finds its roots in the information cocoon to create a protective layer with one-sided information to feel safe within the rapidly changing surroundings; however, the present-day phenomena contradict the development of individuality, as stated by André Breton in his Manifesto of Surrealism. Meanwhile, Millennials and Generation Z are caught between over-stimulation from mass media and the development of individualism. In this essay, I argue that mediatization encourages the development of visual rhetoric and solidifies particular aesthetic identities with contemporary signifiers to increase recognizability. Furthermore, subcultures and countercultures are formed around vaporwave and Fan Fiction communities as a passive protest against mass media. Nevertheless, this phenomenon coupled with communal involvement has encouraged capitalisms’ deeper penetration of internet media. This thesis research examines the legitimacy of surrealist escapist culture and its intricate relationship with individualism.

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A Flake

These digital snowflakes are generated by using real weather, time, and location data collected through numerous sources. The rise of NFTs are redefining the value of internet based assets, it is interesting to explore the connection between the values of physicality and information. Although these flakes do not contribute to the most realistic form, they are to question the fabricality of the reality itself. Would each snowflake’s uniqueness make it more realistic from humans’ perspective?

Cyberspace Manifesto

Terrain

A vectorized motion design of Ye Chen’s automatic drawings. These organic shapes together form a terrain-like space. The purpose is to translate and visualize what our subconscious mind may pose to the naked eye.

individual_vs_communal

This motion poster is to compare and examine the relationship between individual’s identity and the community’s overall spirit that it resonates with. What are these individual flakes looking for? What keeps they in such an organized pattern, and what may be the communal mood or spirit that keeps the relationship alive?

Sincerely, Escapists

"Sincerely, Escapists" is an interactive VR space that is built on a social platform called VRChat. It allows two users to execute the automatic drawing simultaneously in a 3D space. However, unlike traditional automatism, drawing lines around the user mimics the behavior of constructing an abstract space, creating a personal and unique alternate reality that manifests the subconscious mind of the participant. To prevent participants' minds from being disturbed by each other, they are unable to view or change their partner's work until after the process is completed. The purpose of having two users mixing up the lines is an opportunity to stimulate collaborative creativity. This mechanism allows the possibility of dodging creativity manipulations from popular culture by retrospectively evaluating participants' minds. The drawings hold the personal values of each participant. At the same time, they present a gentle public protest against popular culture. Therefore the finished works are presented in postcard style for their semi-private value, hence "Sincerely, Escapists." Collectively they represent a message meant to inspire the greater public about the potential creativity of inner minds.