PLEASE LEAVE

please leave (me alone)

curated collection of projects on introversion

methods: Adobe Photoshop + Illustrator, machine shop work, product development, curation
tags: manifesto, activism, regenerative design, speculative design, COVID-19 pandemic
outputs: collection of products, exhibition at the RCA

the
invert
manifesto

Introversion and extraversion are not binaries but rather sliders on a spectrum. People can shift between the two depending on their comfort level, or if the situation is work or play. Usually, it is the introvert that has to perform as an extravert to appear competent or confident, as dictated by society. Extraversion is a celebrated quality in leaders and role models. Introversion is something that is seldom understood and at best tolerated.

‘please leave (me alone)’ is an ecosystem of provocations that follow the story of the invert. An invert is an introvert who is proud of who they are and is seeking to reclaim the power of introversion. In the ecosystem is a manifesto for inverts, a pangolin chair to simulate conversational performance, a travel kit for getting out of social events, and a speculative scenario about an organisation that starts pandemics to force everyone to adhere to introversion.

pangolin
chair

My first provocation was the pangolin chair. For the first rendition of the pangolin chair, I found a wooden armchair off the street and changed it to fit my ideas. I took off the legs on the chair, so that it sat flat on the ground. This requires the motion of tucking knees and head in to sit. I also sewed an extra cushion for the seat of the chair to increase comfort level.

Then I added a canopy hood of metal arches to shield the sitter from the outside. I wove different fabrics between the wood and metal frame, representing connections and friendships. While the fabrics were muted, not all of them were soft, showcasing that even in the chair, stimuli still came through.

I wanted the inside of the chair to be quieter and cozy so that the introvert can withdraw. My original concept was for the outside of the chair to have warm, bolder tones still in the same color scheme. The surface on the outside would start out as scales or armor that graduates into feathers. While the introvert catches a breath inside, people will still be interacting with the outside as a distraction. The introvert is still part of the conversation while recharging.

To make the chair more interactive, I transformed two of the former chair legs into levers that would attach to the arms of the chair. I elongated them and then sewed a fabric tail that pulls the two together.

While the introvert retreats in the conversation, they can still manipulate conversational levers to create a performance, so that the person they are speaking to still believes they are continuing the conversation. This is the equivalent of mentally checking out of a conversation and retreating while still adding in prompters (such as “Tell me more...” and “What do you think about ...?”) for the other person to pick up the onus of speaking. The introvert will still appear sociable and engaged while seeking a breather.

I wanted the motion of the pangolin-peacock’s “tail” to be dynamic, mimicking ribbon dancing or streamers: the flow of a conversation. I also wanted it to be eye-catching. For this reason, I attached the two conversational levers at different fulcrum points, so that they would require different levels of effort to lift and thus create a staggered effect and a discrepancy in length. I also attached different streamers and feathers that will flutter and catch the light, adding to the illusion of engagement.

regenerative practice

My practice is based on treasure seeking, collecting, and curating found objects. I observe the natural environment, sifting amid stimuli to find potential in objects left behind. I breathe new life into old objects, creating from reused instead of raw materials. Regenerative at its core, this infiltrates the cycle of creation that would otherwise spiral into collapse.

Fitting to my practice, all of the materials were reused or found: the chair legs, the dowels to attach the chair (I found a crib off the street and cut it apart into dowels in the wood workshop), the fabric (sourced from a scrapstore), and even the feathers (I found them off the street, brand new, on a walk through London).

parties
for inverts

Other provocations:

Highlighted by a felt banner I made that says “Please Leave” as a mockery of “Happy Birthday,” it is a representative situation of if introverts said how they really felt. It refers back to my Invert Manifesto of authentic social honesty to facilitate empathy instead of fakeness.

travel kits
for introverts

I also am designing a “travel kit” for introverts that acts as the intermediary between this radical authenticity ideal and the current norms of adapting to social conventions. In the kits are things like headache pills, body odor spray, and pepper spray, to either act as excuses for declining social invitations or to ward off unwanted company.

PAN(demic) GO(ood for) L(ikeminded) IN(troverts)

A more dystopian, speculatively evil design situation. After realizing that the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated a better understanding of introverts, an organization abbreviated PANGOLIN was formed to create pandemics in the world every few years, so everyone will be forced to step into the shoes of an introvert and introverts can have an easier time. Their mission is to topple the extravert order. (Poetically, pangolins were also one of the animals mistakenly blamed for the spread of COVID-19.)

exhibition

This series of provocations was exhibited as part of RCA open studios, the 3rd and 4th of February, 2023. The online version of the exhibition can be found here.