Framed Lives
Our lives are shaped by rules and discipline from birth, guiding our choices and actions. This work uses four interactive sound installations to explore how discipline affects us through key life stages—childhood, education, work, and marriage—each linked to a body organ. It invites reflection on how discipline shapes who we are.
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INSPIRATION
The Body as a Container
The body mirrors social and cultural issues like gender, race, and class and has long been a political symbol. Western thinkers like Foucault explored how power controls and disciplines the body to regulate individuals. In ancient China, practices like foot binding and rituals such as sacrifices showed how power marked and shaped the body to convey authority and meaning.
MINDMAP RESEARCH
Background research
In Chinese childhood, discipline rooted in filial piety shapes daily life, guided by the belief that the body and hair are received from parents. Parents impose strict control, with constant reminders like Obey us and Don t fall behind. They regulate every detail, from classes to phone use and even leisure activities, aiming to mold the perfect child. Yet, this control often fuels a deep desire in children to break free from such expectations.
In the workplace, leaders often use criticism and manipulation to control employees, undermining their confidence and fostering self-doubt. They create anxiety through constant comparisons, excessive demands, and disguised justifications like for your own good. This environment disciplines employees into obedient tools, questioning their worth and prioritizing compliance over individuality.
Discipline
Traditional Chinese authoritarianism in education enforces strict rules on students, from appearance labels like sunshine boys to rigid routines like synchronized exercises and restricted breaks. These outdated practices harm emotional well-being and suppress autonomy, hindering true learning. It s time to move beyond these restrictions.
in traditional Chinese thought.
Discipline in Confucian thought
Confucianism links personal moral growth to serving society and the state. Texts like Liji stress strict rituals and etiquette, fostering social pressure for self-discipline. Principles like the Three Bonds and Five Constants shape relationships and behavior, reinforcing collective harmony through individual regulation.
Discipline in Legalist thought
Legalism prioritizes strict laws and punishments to maintain order, relying on state power to enforce behavior. It emphasizes external control through rewards and penalties, rejecting moral self-regulation as a means of discipline.
In China, traditional gender roles confine married men and women to lifelong responsibilities. Men are expected to support their parents and provide financial supports to the family. Women face pressure from household chores and childcare, both trapped by societal expectations and family duties.
Discipline in Taoist thought
Taoism advocates for discipline that aligns with nature, emphasizing natural behavior over imposed rules. Harmony is achieved through inner understanding and self-restraint, valuing internal self-discipline above external control.
Discipline in traditional education
In traditional education, teachers were respected as moral and knowledge leaders, and students had to follow strict rules. The imperial examination system not only selected officials but also enforced social discipline, shaping a model of behavior that aligned with societal norms.
Choose a body part to represent the discipline
Choose a body part to represent the discipline during the student years.
Choose a body part to represent the discipline during the working years.
Choose a body part to represent the discipline during the post-marriage years.
C0NSTRUCTION PROCESS:
Silicone or squishy materials can be used to represent a child's resistance to parental discipline and nagging, expressed through stretching or the opening and closing of ears.
A white silicone brain in an acrylic box symbolizes blind obedience to teacher discipline. Triggered by the sound of discipline, the brain lights up with color, representing the awakening of independent thought.
A squishy heart model inside a glass jar represents the psychological impact of leadership discipline. When triggered, a hammer shatters the jar, freeing the heart.
ARDUINO
A silicone foot model on a sound-activated turntable is gradually bound by rope when triggered by the sound of a partner's discipline, symbolizing control and restraint.
The entire piece is driven by a sound-activated device that controls four parts. During the childhood and working stages, the device operates mechanical clamps to open and close. In the pupilage stage, the device triggers the UV light to turn on. In the post-marriage stage, the device activates the spinning turntable.
FINAL OUTPUT
The ears are fixed to a voice-controlled mechanical clip. When speaking to the voice-activated device, the mechanical clip opens and closes, causing the ears to open and close as well, symbolizing the act of closing the ears to avoid hearing.
Place the foot model on a voice-controlled turntable. When speaking to the voice-activated device, the turntable rotates, causing the feet to rotate as well. At the same time, the hemp rope winds around the feet in circles, symbolizing the feet being bound or restrained.
Place the heart model inside a glass jar. When speaking to the voice-controlled device, the mechanical clip opens, causing a hammer attached to the clip by a rope to fall and shatter the glass jar. This action symbolizes the heart breaking free from its restraints.
Place the brain model inside an acrylic box. When speaking to the voice-controlled device, the UV light activates, shining on the brain model. As the light shines, the intricate patterns on the brain gradually become visible, symbolizing the brain breaking free from the constraints of thought.
