Immeasurable Ranges

Pandemic social distancing is not only physical but also personal. With the rapid change of uncertainty, we are stuck between the physical concern of safety and the desire for social activities with unspeakable anxiety and insecurity. Our tools and systems, notably the measurements as the foundation of human creation, are designed to quantify and unify the reality statically. It's not only limited to responding to the uncertainty responsively but also being rigid in allowing imagination and feeling. A measuring system with an adoptive range is needed, especially including the variable range of humanity.

By stretching the law of physics, this project demonstrates an elastic frame of being inclusive of our feelings and subjectivity. You can find four tools in this project, a rubber ruler that addresses social distancing and extends as tension rises, and a 3D triangular ruler that offers reflective perspectives. There is also a drawing compass with a calligraphic brush at the end that emphasises fluidity, and a flexible bubble level suggesting that relative flatness might be curved.

The project is for adults to relearn the rigid understanding of reality and also for teenagers to understand the reason for inventing measurements. It evokes our elastic instincts of seeing the world without any frameworks. By opening up the personal uncanny towards uncertain reality, an entrance of valuing and exchanging diverse understandings could be possible.