Image Not Available
The Space Between Us
Collection:CSM Museum & Study Collection
Date: 2023
Artist: Ray Chong Shao Rui
Dimensions:
60 × 365 × 310 mm (6 × 36.5 × 31 cm)
Medium: Laser-cut & Engraved Stained Birch Plywood, 3D-printed Clear Resin, Brass, Clear Acrylic for record player and Digital film
Object number: GD.2023.1164.CC.1-2
DescriptionPrototype record player and video. Description from the designer:
The Space Between Us is a crafted meditational aid and orrery gifted to loved ones navigating traumatic relationship changes. As a poetic visual language, it illustrates family, friends, and lovers as celestial bodies orbiting a star. Akin to the repetitive motions of Tibetan singing bowls, a meditational interface only plays by moving each planet at an even speed around its orbit creating a sense of soothing physicality that focuses the mind.
In a journey through one’s ‘relationship solar system’, the product uses positive reframing therapeutic techniques to guide reflection on present and lost relationships, encouraging meaning-making and gratitude in the grieving process.
By moving a knob, users spin a planetary disc, which moves connected gears beneath the surface. These gears activate a rotary encoder connected to an Arduino microcontroller. The microcontroller interprets the movement and initiates the meditational interface's playback through the speaker.
The object is intended for personal use as a reflection item. When turned on, the product illuminates and can be used for its meditational purposes in the dark, private space of one’s room or simply as a beautiful night lamp and mantlepiece ornament.
The Space Between Us draws inspiration from the designer's emotional turmoil following a relationship and prompts us to contemplate our loved ones' positions within our own universe. It serves as a reminder that people have their own time and place in our lives, and even when relationships conclude, we can find gratitude and meaning in these experiences.
The Space Between Us is a crafted meditational aid and orrery gifted to loved ones navigating traumatic relationship changes. As a poetic visual language, it illustrates family, friends, and lovers as celestial bodies orbiting a star. Akin to the repetitive motions of Tibetan singing bowls, a meditational interface only plays by moving each planet at an even speed around its orbit creating a sense of soothing physicality that focuses the mind.
In a journey through one’s ‘relationship solar system’, the product uses positive reframing therapeutic techniques to guide reflection on present and lost relationships, encouraging meaning-making and gratitude in the grieving process.
By moving a knob, users spin a planetary disc, which moves connected gears beneath the surface. These gears activate a rotary encoder connected to an Arduino microcontroller. The microcontroller interprets the movement and initiates the meditational interface's playback through the speaker.
The object is intended for personal use as a reflection item. When turned on, the product illuminates and can be used for its meditational purposes in the dark, private space of one’s room or simply as a beautiful night lamp and mantlepiece ornament.
The Space Between Us draws inspiration from the designer's emotional turmoil following a relationship and prompts us to contemplate our loved ones' positions within our own universe. It serves as a reminder that people have their own time and place in our lives, and even when relationships conclude, we can find gratitude and meaning in these experiences.