Diploma Project Proposal

Background

There have been a lot of times I notice myself doing the same thing again and again till I am completely satisfied. I have seen myself getting obsessed with aligning, organising things around me, checking all four doors of the car before I leave it in the parking lot (even if the car has a central locking system), re-checking the main door of the house before leaving, making sure my hands and feet are always clean, making sure that I write in a straight line, etc. My obsessions may sound funny and irritating at the same time, but over the past few years, I have seen how it has given me the eye for detail. Since I am obsessed with perfection, I am pretty fast in noticing the glitch in things visually.

For me, my obsessions are like a driving force that makes me a perfectionist. Also, to realise how good it feels to be good at that one thing and to know it better than anyone else is an extremely satisfying feeling.

What is my project about?

This project is about tracing and capturing what an obsessive mind goes through during certain instances in their life and translating these into a set of tangibles which present this world view.

The final tangible will seek to present the general idea of obsession in an encouraging and socially acceptable light.

What are my areas of investigation, exploration and study? (Research Questions)

• What is the difference between an obsession and being particular about something? When does it become a disorder?
• What leads to an obsession? What are the factors affecting it?
• When does obsession become compulsive? How do people affected by this lead their life?
• How does the belief system of the obsessed person compel him or her to act in an irrational or unreasonable way?
• What are people obsessed with in their daily lives? And why?
• What is the degree of their obsessions?
• What is the difference between passion and obsession? How are they similar and different?
• How are such people looked at and treated by society?
• How irrational and unreasonable can they get to perform their compulsive tasks?
• What are their ideas on obsession?
• In their everyday life, how preoccupied are they with the compulsive thoughts, images, ideas, desires and feelings?
• What motivates people to work hard - the obsession with the image of being on the top always or something else?
• How have I developed my obsessions? How have other people developed theirs?
• What do the people around the obsessed person feel about his fixations?
• How can obsessed people be included in the society rather than excluded?
• Exploring the scale of obsessions (in terms of quality and quantity) people have, studying the number of repetitions.
• Study obsession of various degrees amongst a range of people from different social and economic groups.
• Study the role of illustration and art in showing something serious as obsessions in a light-hearted and simple way.

What is the need for the project?

Being an obsessed person myself, I have often wondered if other people also get similar anxieties. Fixation often irritates the people around the obsessed person. I have often felt the need to talk about the same, resulting in embarrassing myself.

Because of my obsessive compulsive thoughts and certain urgencies to have things the way I want them to be, people around me get irritated. Therefore, I see an important need to study the way people look at obsessions. Also, taking myself as an example, I want to be the voice of all those people who are even minutely obsessed with anything.

Approach/Process

The approach will involve talking and sharing with people of what they go through during an obsessive thought, making them comfortable and more open to the idea, without being scared of any judgements. It will present an insightful view on obsessions. It will also give an idea of the various degrees and kinds of obsessions.

• Observations, interviews, questionnaires and surveys, stalking interesting characters
• Observe the behavioural changes that occur when the obsession becomes compulsive
• Interviews and questionnaires depending on the class and section of society being approached
• Documenting conversations, actions, expressions
• Drawings, illustrations: people, things that they are obsessed with, situations, objects
• Photographs
• Audio
• Video

How and where is this project situated in the wider context of Art, Design & Technology?

Being a visual artist, I feel that I have the ability to effectively communicate and change opinions and therefore behaviour towards people who are obsessed.I believe that graphic design has the power to communicate to a large and varied group of audiences. Visuals have the power to make people believe in something and through this project, I intend to change the idea of obsessive people in the minds of the public.

Form

The final outcome (a series of small books/one illustrated book/ surface graphics) will be in a form that can be carried around and is understandable at a universal level. The tone of the narrative will be positive, sarcastic and funny. I will also be exploring the medium of type and illustration through the project. The final form will emotionally relate to the person whose hands it is in. Everyone will be able to find a bit of themselves in the product. The product will also give the reader a certain amount of hope and happiness.

Intent

• To give obsessed people a space to share their compulsive desires
• To leave people with a powerful after-thought
• To change the way people look at obsessions. Also present to them an insightful and a more truthful view on obsession, therefore make them relate to the project on an emotional and psychological level
• To see how visuals can change the picture that already exists in a person’s head
• To see how people can relate to each other and learn from each other’s fixations

Materials + Resources

• Movies like Pi, The Aviator
• People (belonging to different sections of society, age groups, income groups)
• Readings
• Book: Everything in Its Place (My Trials and Triumphs with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) by Marc Summers, Interpretation of Dreams (Sigmund Freud)
• An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton
• People suffering from OCD of any degree
• Institutes and organisations working towards helping people who are obsessed

Expected Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of how to quantify a topic that is so objective
• Looking into the way human psyche and behaviour work parallel to each other
• Study and explore various mediums of visual expression
• Learning how to deal with complex problems and situations while handling a self-initiated project
• Generating a certain awareness amongst the audience about the positive aspects of being obsessed
• Learning how to work systematically under strict deadlines