The Future of Breathing

This project envisions three speculative future breathing lifestyles and products of Chinese residents stemming from the existing technologies to accumulate momentums for air pollution changes.

Long Description

Air pollution is one human-made factor that is trapping sunlight and causing climate change, but the relationship also goes the other way: climate change stands to increase levels of air pollution. The negative impacts of air pollution were underestimated in China, and what we need are effective regulations and solutions to control air quality and act provocatively together.

This project speculated three everyday products which reveal alien yet mundane breathing gestures from a projected heavily air polluted environments: 3rd Lung Mask by H&M, Personal Lung Trainer by Nike, and Oxygen Cigarettes by Issey Miyake. The inherent gestures of using those products make us rethink our relationship with the environment today, leading to impactful conversations and cultural reflection.

All three products in the project have two ways to impact air pollution problem today. On the one hand, they are all functional products that designed based on existing technologies and protect citizens from air pollution. On the other hand, since all the products are functional and feasible, citizens can make personal statements while enjoying using the products in daily lives. Considering any breathing apparatus as normal behavior is a form of complacency, yet, these three products are meant as objects of resistance, loudly proclaiming:” No, we will not accept air pollution as a reality.” By designing them as functional, highly fashional pieces, their use, and collective voice carry more clout.

Within the timeline of acceleration program, We’ll mainly focus on the Third Lung Mask, the most developed prototype, and prepare it for the market. In the following three years, we’ll keep pushing The Third Lung Mask to the markets in China and other air polluted regions. It will keep creating public reflections and accumulating momentums from bottom-up for changes. Besides, the methods and tools we learned during the acceleration program could become valuable experiences that can power us to realize the other two products and future projects.