Arts Thread

The ”Fragile Barrier“ project explore not only the behaviours themselves but also the emotions and reasons behind them. Most significant reason of compulsive behaviour stems from increased sensitivity to various unexpected sensory stimuli, particularly touch. To protect myself mentally, I began to construct barriers, which repetitively shown as compulsive behaviours. Through this project, I tried to reveal these barriers one by one, expressing the process and my uncomfortable emotions through my work. The ”Fragile Barrier“ project consists of three pieces, each showcasing the gradual progression as these protective barriers start to integrate with the external world. This progression reflects the journey of confronting and expressing my own discomfort and sensitivities.

This project originates from material research. Upon relocating to a new environment, I noticed that amount of hand soap was decreasing with noticeable speed, which led me to realise my obsession with handwashing. This prompted me to contemplate whether the act of handwashing genuinely matters in terms of cleanliness itself or if the psychological comfort it provides is more significant. Observing hesitating to examine my clean hands under a microscope, I realised that this behaviour occurred because of a psychological dependency. Consequently, I shifted my focus towards elements that cause psychological discomfort rather than physical uncleaness. My research expanded beyond the relationship between soap and skin to encompass textiles that function like a second skin. I began comparing the fabrics of my clothing, which are constantly in contact with my body, to external fabrics, such as those covering underground seats. This exploration led to a broader material research project. The dark-coloured fabric covering underground seats, which likely appears to be filled with dust and is not clean, causes me significant stress and stimulates a strong desire to wash my hands. To address this, I began a project replacing this fabric with transparent material to highlight the importance of maintaining cleanliness in this environment.