We Can Be Idler

My work is based on Simmel’s analysis of the Metropolis combined with the ideas presented by Situationist International to explore how capitalism affects the establishment of our values. Taking our attitude towards idling in everyday contexts as a starting point, I describe how I gradually changed my view of idling through my experiments.

I used a Poem Bed to perform near Liverpool Street Station and build a narrative scene for audiences. To tell them the story about me and my idler self and express a kind of resistance to productivity values and the current mainstream lifestyle. I hope to trigger audiences to interpret the scene I build and give them a different perspective to think about how should we behave when we are idle.

In the process of experimenting with my work, I explored the value of idling by exploring poetry and the combination of different media (such as workshops, film, and installation art).

Feeling In Idling Moment

I wrote poetry about the intuitive feeling I had when I was idle. This was the starting point of my project, and it prompted me to explore the reasons for my feelings.

In The City

Inspired by Simmel and Situationist International, I found that the anxiety we feel when we are idle is because we fall into the false desire constructed by capitalism. So in this context, should we rethink what it feels like to be idle? I try to express my thoughts on the Metropolis in research through poetry combining film.

Idle Workshop

n this capitalist-guided system, we believe that idleness cannot create value, but is idleness really worthless? To explore this, I held an idling workshop. I recorded their behavior by video and poem. This film combines poetry and expresses the uniqueness that idling brings to us.

Idling World

The book How to be Idle has given me some inspiration. it prompted me to convey the idling moment from the perspective of small scenes. I used the poetry combined with illustrations to build an idling scene with different small events, so as to show the spiritual feeling that idling brings to us.

What Is An Idler?

When we are idle, we may be more in the process of feeling ourselves and giving ourselves back to ourselves.
Everyone can be an idler. An idler has the courage to accept themselves, the courage to rediscover themselves and the courage to resist the contemporary way of life.

Poem Bed

‘Don’t! The lie-in – by which I mean lying in bed awake – is not a selfish indulgence but an essential tool for any student of the art of living, which is what the idler really is. Lying in bed doing nothing is noble and right, pleasurable and productive.’ – Tom Hodgkinson
The bed is not just a tool for us to sleep, it is a scene of leisure and solitude. For me, the bed carries most of my idle time. So In the form of poetry and illustrations, I designed a Poem Bed that represents my idleness, so as to tell the story of me, an unashamed idler.

For the Metropolis, there are no items, such as beds, that represent ‘idling’ near the workplace. I choose to perform a series of idle behaviors near Liverpool Street Station, such as sleeping, being in a daze and writing poetry. This performance reinforces the ritual sense of my conversation with my idle self. The performance in a place that represents ‘productivity’ creates a contradictory scene, expressing an attitude of accepting my idle self and a kind of resistance to the contemporary lifestyle and productivity values.