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tHEiR BLUE 她们的蓝
Full text linktHEiR BLUE(她们的蓝)is a thesis project dedicated to exploring, promoting, and honouring Miao Batik, one of the Intangible Cultural Heritages (as defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 2003) of China, and its inheritors—the Miao women. The Miao are one of the 55 recognized ethnic minorities in China.
For more than two millennia of Miao Batik's existence, Miao women used beeswax to paint on cloth and dye it using indigo plants, thereby depicting and preserving the cultural and historical journey of the Miao people. Through this art form, they capture their reflections on life and convey hopeful wishes for future generations.
This research project employs a multidisciplinary approach, including research-creation, storytelling, and interviews with inheritors of Miao Batik to explore the protective processes of Chinese traditional culture/intangible cultural heritage and the inadequate protection of women's social rights in Chinese (Miao) society. The project's creative output includes an artist’s book, videos, illustration designs, and Miao Batik artworks. Moreover, due to the unique aspects of Chinese/Miao culture and language expression, this thesis is written in both Chinese and English, with translations of references first processed through translation software and then refined by me
Host & Compost
Full text linkHost & Compost (March 2 – 6, 2024) is a material-based curatorial research and thesis exhibition that presents two Toronto-based artists, Leeay Aikawa and Sara Maston, at Ignite Gallery. The artists employ various artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, and installation, to create artworks exploring concepts such as compost, decomposition, being host to non-humans, life, death, and rebirth. Through tangible and metaphysical aspects of composting, the exhibition aims to build fresh dialogues between visitors and decomposers. This research investigates life inside compost piles while seeing it as a metaphor for further investigation through art and philosophy
Anatomy of the Material Self: An Investigation of Selfhood and the Material Lifeworld
Full text linkThis thesis delves into the odyssey of selfhood and material life as it traverses from one cultural landscape to another. The primary objective is to investigate the relationship between identity and the evolution of selfhood, utilizing the concept of a system of symbols manifested and negotiated within my home through design and object ownership. The auto-ethnographic and self-reflexive approach dissects the anatomy of my material selfhood from my immigration in 1998 to the present day. Through an examination of my personal journey, this study utilizes personal, spatial and object anecdotes as key elements in the analytical process, aiming to encapsulate and scrutinize how one’s home and possessions function as conveyors of meaning. In this process, the research unveils the significance of my domestic world and the objects within as symbols revealing connections or intentional detachments interconnected with aspirations, affirmations and the complex processes of assimilation. By dissecting the complexities inherent in multivalent concepts of culture, contemporary taste-worlds and racialized boundaries through a transdisciplinary approach, it explores the notion of belonging with belongings, analyzing the intricacies of identity and material culture to reveal the interconnections that aim to contribute to the contemporary experience of selfhood. The research offers a viable methodology and model to interrogate and analyze how individuals negotiate and develop identity and selfhood through the symbiotic system of symbols created in their material lifeworld
Beyond the Horizon: The Future of Corporate Social Responsibility
Full text linkAs the Canadian corporate landscape continues to evolve, traditional models of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) are facing increasing scrutiny and calls for transformation. This paper
explores the necessity of rethinking these conventional approaches and embracing new
paradigms to ensure future preparedness in the corporate world. By shifting the focus from
solely measuring success based on profitability to encompassing a broader range of metrics,
including climate justice, human rights, and collective liberation, organizations can better
address the complex challenges of the modern era. Drawing on insights from literature review
and secondary research, this paper advocates for a comprehensive approach to CSR that
prioritizes the well-being of the planet, people, and purpose. Through this reimagining of CSR,
businesses can not only enhance their sustainability and resilience but also contribute to the
greater good of society and the environment
Random-Access Memories
Full text linkFollowing my archival impulse, I access memories in the form of 8mm footage shot in 2002 - 2004 by my family members to read my own history. Taking an anti-masterful approach and building upon and working with the media to better understand what constitutes my being here as a particular kind of subject, I simultaneously meditate on the notion of memory, access, sound and the state of the post-digital. The installation RAM (Random-Access Memory) consists of a set of digitally recreated images, aligned to their original 8mm footage projected on the opposite wall. The original footage playing on a loop, is displayed next to a collection of soundtracks inspired by the memories from my childhood and the footage shot by my uncle across India and Italy. When we think of ourselves outside of the Grid of 9-5, which physical form and form of thought do we assume then? To what extent are our everyday experiences shaped by the past and to what extent is the past still happening?
In this installation I extend a hand from somewhere within this bundle of knots, outward and inward, relentlessly trying to trace my formative narratives that in ways both clear and less accessible, have shaped my self-understanding as a particular kind of subject in this country and economy
Everyone’s Committed: Evaluating Accessibility Statements Across Design Systems
Full text linkWhile most organizations keep their accessibility guidelines private, many digital design systems are public. This allows researchers to study and compare how different systems situate and discuss accessibility. Through a content analysis of over 90 design systems, four different categories of accessibility value statements were identified: framing, modes of address, responsibilities, and commitments. Using critical discourse analysis, each category was assessed through the lens of value sensitive design, an approach focused on how the design process can better identify and debate key values such as ethics, human rights, and inclusion.
The four categories constructed were framing—statements inspired by universal design that included the word “everyone”; modes of address—statements containing the phrase “we believe”; responsibilities—statements that referred to employees of the host organization; and commitments, which contained a mix of ambiguous and unambiguous value statements.
The findings indicate that accessibility responsibilities and commitments are more likely to be successful when value statements contain clear language and specific associated actions. Related to this, accessibility value statements would benefit from a shift away from universal design and towards inclusive design to better identify and minimize the unintended consequences of exclusion. Finally, this research suggests that many accessibility statements reflect core aspects of value sensitive design without making direct reference to the approach, indicating potential overlap
Community Visioning through the Lens of Spatial Justice: A Guidance Framework for Inclusivity and Ecological Resilience
Full text linkThis Major Research Project challenges prevailing perspectives on community engagement processes and spatial design, which are often colonial, capitalist, and anthropocentric. Instead, it proposes a multi-dimensional approach that takes into account planetary life-support systems, natural limits, human rights, and inclusive decision-making processes.
The study explores three main areas: the impact of globalization on colonization, bioregionalism in spatial design, and communal visioning. Through an extensive literature review, the study sheds light on how settler perspectives dominate the design of actions that interact with spaces and shape our envisioned future for the physical environment. Expert interviews uncover critical themes in the ongoing effort to decolonize processes and foresight tools when working with communities. Meanwhile, the literature review on bioregionalism and spatial justice challenges the prevailing mechanistic mindset regarding nature and resource distribution, emphasizing the inclusion of non-human actors and promoting emotional connection and responsible interaction with the natural environment.
Building upon our research findings, this study presents best practices in the realm of decolonization and foresight, and integrates them in a guidance framework for community planning and spatial design. The conceptual foundations of this framework have been previously employed by various foresight and decolonization practitioners who worked with communities, and what this framework aims to highlight are the effective practices and the core principles necessary when conducting inclusive and non-anthropocentric communal visioning with a focus on spatial design. There are six key principles guiding this framework: ‘Culturally informed’,’ Decentering dominant narratives’, ‘Mandatory inclusion of all actors’, ‘Non-anthropocentric approach’, ‘Empowering Stakeholders’, and ‘Forward Thinking’. The framework is portrayed in a 5 stage life cycle of a tree, illustrating the natural progression of life and growth, which emphasizes the holistic and interconnected system of actors and their functions within the framework
The Future of Human-Plant Synergy in the Age of Remote Interaction
Full text linkThis research investigates the physiological and psychological impacts of tactile interactions with plants, focusing on the comparison between live plants as display mediums and technologically mediated remote relationships.
The study aims to understand how these different modes of interaction affect plant growth and human well-being. It also explores the emotional and psychological effects of physical touch with plants on human well-being, particularly in the context of the increasing prevalence of remote interfaces that lead to disconnection from natural environments.
The research further examines how specific physiological and psychological responses experienced by individuals when physically interacting with plants utilized as live display mediums compare to the experiences facilitated by remote interaction technology.The research aims to illuminate the symbiotic relationship between humans and plants, potentially influencing future human-plant interactions
Designing for Agency: How the game Feast of Proportions was created for learning.
Full text linkGames have incredible potential to act as experiential learning opportunities by offering players agency that is not present in everyday life. Drawing from Thi Nguyen’s theory of agency as an inherent aesthetic of games media, this thesis explores how games may be leveraged as a form of learning-by-doing in a pedagogical setting. This argument is explored through the analysis of existing games, as case studies, and my design prototype of a new augmented reality game, Feast of Proportions. John Law’s material semiotics approach is applied to play and learning in order to understand the relationships between the designer, game, and player. The research through Feast of Proportions' design offers reflections on the iterative design of a game for learning and a final product that speaks to potential future for the application of games in educatio