Homesick

Homesick is a design commentary by YUUE on the extreme covid containment strategies in China that created an unnecessary humanitarian crisis.

YUUE chose a Ming-style Chair and a traditional Chinese porcelain vase as cultural symbols and wrapped them tightly in a protective suit tailored for each of them. As a vivid metaphor, a Chinese chair and vase in a pure white hazmat suit with blue ribbons silently comment on the absurd reality in the form of design.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, progressive antivirus measures known as the zero-covid policy has swept the whole country and invaded everyone’s life: the ubiquitous use of health code, exhaustive contact tracing, shutting down of borders, forced testing and quarantine, locking down cities and fencing up resident buildings…antivirus campaigns like these not only put deprive citizens of freedom but also completely isolate the country from the rest of the world, leaving itself unrecognizable.

The ubiquitous presence of hazmat suits worn by medical personnel, police force, and community volunteers is an unforgettable visual experience for those who observe the situation in China. The hazmat suit is made of synthetic flash spun high-density polyethylene fibers with color heat tapes to seal stitches. The harsh white tone and ultra-saturated color make the suit stands out no matter where they are. For those who suffered from the antivirus measures, seeing this hazmat suit will trigger a mental response that can be really unpleasant, even frightening.

Weng Xinyu, founder of YUUE design studio is very concerned about the situation developing in China. As a German citizen of Chinese descent, he is unable to visit his family throughout the pandemic. The feeling of homesickness and resentment grow into each other. Thus he wants to express his attitude by making this absurd design object with the hazmat suit.

For him, the act of “protection” itself has become a new “hazard” under today’s policy. Just like the misusing of a protective suit, when the virus itself can be protected by simpler and more effective means, insisting on using an airtight protective suit is an unnecessary behavior. The person in the protective suit is often illegible, and he himself is in physical agony. At this time, the essential is replaced by the external and the person to be protected loses importance.

Designer: Weng Xinyu
Staff: Lukas Schaber, Alessia Pinna, Czesanne Q Cuypers
Photo (In front of the Chinese Embassy): Joshua Jara