keep your social distance while playing erik satie in social harmony installation by NOSIGNER

since the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world, our way of life has changed drastically, forcing us to respect social distancing measurements and masks policies to prevent further spread of the virus. in order to make these new social regulations as fun as possible, japanese social design activists NOSIGNER have created social harmony, an installation that aims to spread the culture of social distancing in a humorous way. 

images courtesy of NOSIGNER

installed within the yokohama minatomirai hall at the entrance to the DESIGNART TOKYO 2020 event, social harmony by NOSIGNER harnesses the power of classical music and cultural art to fight COVID-19. an oversized sheet of music has been set on the floor and the notes are playing the moment visitors step on them. by respecting social distances and going one note at a time, the public is able to play eric satie’s gymnopédie nº1. since the played melody changes with every step, one can create one’s own gymnopédie, unique to this place, time and person. as a result, the act of social distancing itself is sublimated into a rich communication that connects people together.

‘social harmony has already been placed at the yokohama minatomirai hall and at the entrance to the DESIGNART TOKYO 2020 design event, and we aim to expand its use to many more areas by strengthening our cooperation with local governments, public facilities, and store personnel,’ comments NOSIGNER. ‘in addition to “gymnopédie nº1” we will prepare songs that match the seasons and events to make infectious disease prevention a fun message. our goal is to make society a place where people can live their new lifestyle in a fun and safe way until we overcome the global COVID-19 crisis.’

project info:

name: social harmoney

designer: NOSIGNER

presented during: DESIGNART tokyo 2020