With lockdowns slowly being lifted in different parts of the world, the pressure to maintain social distancing is more important than ever. Further driving home the concept is the Well-Distance-Being: an hourglass-shaped rattan frame that envelopes the body like a shield or a cage, crafted by research and design platform Livable for the United Nations’ Global Call Out to Creatives initiative.
Livable’s founder Sep Verboom and creative partner Florentien Pletinckx used left-over rattan strips from their studio to create the sustainable sculptural object, arranging the cross hatch pattern into a shape influenced by crinolines, the Victorian era undergarment petticoat frames. The structure isn’t meant to be worn by the public (it measures less than the government-proposed two-meter distance), but acts as a “symbolic intervention originally created to attract people’s attention for good intentions.”
“We believe Well-Distance-Being can contribute to different communities where the classic prevention messages have become repetitive and no longer reach the objective,” Verboom says. “Create for cause, not applause.”
More of Livable’s projects on their website and Instagram.
Photography © Karen Eloot and Pieter Vanoverberghe for Livable