Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Korean costume and interdisciplinary designer Yoojin Chung has created a new furniture/objects collection “Capturing Qi” as a satirical project highlighting the shifting traditional customs of post-modern feng shui and challenging the attitude toward the practice, where consumption replaces the core essence of creating harmony and balance with the flow of qi.
All three devices were intended to resemble scientific equipment. Chung drew on the vacuum chambers used by 18th-century scientists to prove the existence of invisible gases.
Based on the dynamics of the vital flow of energy —qi—Feng shui is a practice deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy and cosmology.
It is the belief that arranging certain objects or furniture allows positive qi to flow throughout the home, promoting well-being, prosperity, and good fortune.
Feng shui has gained global popularity increasingly over the years, especially advocating the idea of a quick fix, a solution that can be easily and physically acted upon, as our desire for constant self-optimization and self-improvement as achievement subjects grows in our modern society.
The commodification of feng shui in the marketplace—is the most obvious embodiment of this newly globalized hyperobject.
By consuming Feng Shui objects; the intangible qi becomes tangible; the invisible becomes visible.
Chung’s installation consists of feng shui smart home devices inspired by existing commodified objects: the crystal ball, wind chime, and fountain.
They become physical, vision-oriented devices derived from scientific apparatus, to control the success in your life with the invisible “substance.”
“This interaction makes you think about what type of success you want,” said Chung, pointing out how different types of object placement have different meanings in feng shui.
With the press of a button, capture and diffuse all the qi to your heart’s content!
Project: Capturing Qi
Designer: Yoojin Chung
