VagaHome - TCK : scents of identity

• Main Author: Casuga, Justinne Alethea Valerio
• Other Authors: Peter Chen Chia Mien
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Visual arts and music::Design::Product; Visual arts and music::General::Social aspects
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/140691
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This dissertation aims to explore the possible role of design in understanding identity and culture, especially with the growing impact of globalisation and mobility in the intermingling of ethnicities and cultures in our modern age. A term coined in the 1950s by the sociologist, Ruth Hill Useem, Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are individuals who have spent a significant part of their developmental years outside of their parents' culture. Sometimes known as the In-Betweeners, Global Nomads2, or the Non-Place Kids3 who are neither here nor there, TCKs have learned to plant their roots in multiple places and cultures, therefore, are usually struggling with the question, "Where are you from?”, as their answers often cannot resonate to just one anthropological place as commonly expected. Though each may have differing backgrounds and cultural experiences, TCKs find commonality in the state of in-betweenness4, being that it is in the midst of transition and mobility where the TCK identity is born. Drawing its name from the words, “Vagabond” and “Home”, VagaHome aims to establish and create a home for the TCK identity through a sensory experience depicting the vagabond cycle of packing up and leaving one temporary home for another - an occurrence that is shared among many TCKs. Initially a spatial design to build a sensory experience, the project is ultimately presented in the form of an experimental film to demonstrate the experience online. This thesis also acts as an introduction for those who have yet to become aware of the growing population of TCKs or for those who have yet to realise that they, too, are part of this global community.