The modern comfort object

• Main Author: Goh, Sherri Sze Yin
• Other Authors: Chalit Kongsuwan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Design::Product; DRNTU::Visual arts and music::General::Moral and ethical aspects; DRNTU::Visual arts and music::General::Social aspects
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67594
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This project is the culmination of curiosity with regard to the relationship between feeling (the emotive) and touching (the physical), and the motivation of a personal experience with PTSD. Upon further research, the revelation of how movements that are perceived to stem from feelings of anxiety can potentially be an outlet of catharsis and even improve focus in our daily lives, has continually been a source of inspiration through the entire journey. This is also a journey of self-discovery on the path to heal oneself and gain inner understanding and peace. Similar interest and understanding has been expressed through the works of Enku and his providence of crudely carved wooden dolls as a source of comfort to people suffering loss, which draws parallels between the tactility of natural material and healing of the distressed mind. The SOS (Samaritans of Singapore) has more recently created a campaign through the use of the plaster, a physical first aid product, to draw attention to the intangible suffering in mental health. Grace Hancock is one of the artists that have explored ad utilized the understanding and importance of physical movement correlating to mental well-being by her continual works in objects that comfort and heal the state of mind. The purpose of this project is to explore the form and materiality in which solace can be provided through. It utilizes a combination of abstract geometric quality and natural material to achieve this aim. By incorporating an ideology of “birth”, “existence” and “death”, an omnipresent process in our lives, the solution looks to inspire reflection and innate understanding of the impermanence in our problems and bring solace through this acceptance. Combined with research and analysis from personal experience as well as surveys done in the field of anxiety disorders, this project aims to draw connections and blur the line between the immateriality of mental health and physical touch. This will be a great aid in bringing awareness and expression of the invisible and unsaid, which is a step forward for local society in which issues pertaining to mental health are often misunderstood, overlooked and taboo to converse about.