glasgow school of art student, hardy wong, presents a bleak, dystopian future for life after coronavirus. contextualized by the current social circumstances amid the pandemic, the research project makes reference to diverse reading materials and various case analyses. the alternative reality makes particular reference to the totalitarian society portrayed in george orwell’s novel, 1984, to create a place where people sacrifice individual freedom for public health and consequently live in a permanent state of fear and insecurity.

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

the slogan

all images courtesy of hardy wong

 

 

the research centers on the biopolitical philosophy studied by both michel foucault and giorgio agamben. the latter mentions ‘naked life’, in which survival becomes the only human raison d’être, and the state of exception becomes the new normal. extracting two keywords of ‘biopolitics’ and ‘biopower’, mentioned by michel foucault (1979), hardy wong explores a speculative society and its collective ideology.

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

the ministry of love

 

 

to create this alternative world, hardy wong has conceived four ‘ministries’: the ministry of love, the ministry of media, the ministry of peace, and the ministry of plenty. wong has also reinterpreted the COVID-19 signage from the UK government to produce a set of graphics employed in the spatial design. through the four ministries, the project imagines a grim and depressing alternative world of totalitarian control, where social interaction is effectively eliminated.

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

the ministry of media

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

workplace in the ministry of media

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

the ministry of peace

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

self-isolation unit at the ministry of peace

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

the eat-out units at the ministry of plenty

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

food collection at the ministry of plenty

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

contact-free food distribution machines

 

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

the graphic language

 

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

theory: biopolitics

hardy wong imagines a 1984-inspired dystopian reality post COVID-19 designboom

the narrative

 

 

project info:

 

project name: the postpandemic landscape
design: hardy wong

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom