
“Can designed ritual help people understand a reliance on repeated behaviour to relieve anxiety?”
Yutian Zhang has designed a product and associated ritual to enable people to express their desires and their daily, repetitive, and slightly obsessive-compulsive behaviours in a positive way. Anaesthetic for Modern People explores the relationship between people and the products they buy against a background fast-changing and insecure society. With such anxiety in her own life, Zhang solution is a designed ritual using specific patterns and repetitive behaviors to improve wellbeing.
At first glance, her work shows a colorful and flashy silk ribbon. But a closer look at each product shows it represents a different time, drawing on Chinese metaphysical notions where seasons correspond to different times of the day. The product itself is pure white, reminiscent of a calming pill. People will perform such rituals at a predetermined time every day, which is like a kind of self-comfort and looking for an outlet for their anxiety. Zhang sees these rituals as closely linked to superstition: “In my view, superstition is like a wishing well. Everyone throws a coin into the well. Whether people believe it or not, people hope for fantasies”.

Granular thermoplastic polymer


Mesh, knitted linen, feathers and granular thermoplastic polymer, 12x8cm

Mesh, knitted linen, feathers and granular thermoplastic polymer, 32x18cm

Mesh, knitted linen, feathers and granular thermoplastic polymer, 11x11cm

Mesh, knitted linen, feathers and granular thermoplastic polymer, 11x6.5cm