Larissa Bekker Thesis Editorial

CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA / 46 Along the same lines as the discourse of dangerousness, those suffering from mental health are often characterized as displaying certain visual signifiers. To illustrate this, one can look at the stock images of Figure 4 titled (by the Alamy stock photo website) “a funny man suffering from a mental disorder” (2015). The model in Figure 4 expresses what Fawcett (2015) calls ‘crazy eyes’ or ‘wild eyes’ – causing him to appear dis- tressed, confronting and disoriented. Furthermore, his messy hair, lack of shoes and proper clothing along with their overly expressive body language; can all be identified as the stereo- typical visual signifiers of mental illness. Unfortunately, these visual signifiers do not only appear within overly dramatic stock images, but also in newspaper photographs, social me- dia posts, comics, television series and even within anti-stigma mental health campaign posters such as the one in Figure 5.

47 / CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA With that being said, these visual signifiers have been so deeply saturated our daily lives, that despite their obvious exaggeration, through repetition they start to represent the truth. As a result, people start to view people who suffer from mental health issues as devoid of normalness or as ‘the other’ and the deviant. Consequently, this results in a society where we do not recognize and acknowledge those who really suffer from mental illnesses, because they very rarely display such behaviour in public. People don’t know what “people with mental illness really look like” (Fawcett 2015). These two discourses, although not being as influential as the biomedical discourse, which will be discussed next, still have a profound impact on the way in which students with mental health are treated on campus. Students interviewed for this study indicated that these discourses manifest in many different ways within each of their individual lives. A Stellenbosch student I had a conversation with on campus shared with me the way in which her friends started to treat her when they found out about her mental health struggles. They feared her, but not in the typical way expected from the discourse of dangerousness. Instead they feared the way in which their actions could cause her to react – therefore resulting in them lying and keeping things from her – as they attempted to ‘protected her. In her words, “they treated me like a hazard, as if any wrong step would set me off and make me spiral out of control”. The way in which society has taught us to fear mental illness has resulted in us unconsciously treating those closest to us differently- it’s the only truth which we’ve been told, and therefore it is the only way in which we know how to react. Another student explained a completely different experience. In her case no one, including herself, was able to recognize her mental health problem until it was almost too late. She explains that:

CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA / 48 “For years everyone just told me that it was just academic stress,stress, that I just wasn’t handling it well. That I had to exercise more, eat healthy and then I would be able to cope better with my ‘normal stress’. No one recognized the signs – simply due to them not being as obvious and as direct as in the movies and on social media. I didn’t cut myself, nor did I completely isolate myself from humanity, nor was I constantly being sad and temperamental- well not at first anyway. I reached a point where I somehow forced myself to fit the stereotsytpericeaoltcyhpaicralcctehraracter of a ‘mental health patient’; in order for people to notice that I needed help. Only until I started acting like the media told me to, until I cut my wrists and isolate myself did people actually start to notice. Looking back, if my friends and family knew how to look out for the actual signs, the ones where I would have panic attacks or insomnia, it would have saved me from a lot of pain”.



CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA / 50 It is clear that these discourses have disturbing affirms that newspaper articles such as these effects on individuals who suffer from mental perpetuates mental health illnesses as a disease illnesses, especially ‘minor’ cases of depression with a biomedical cause, “although no single or anxiety. The Biomedical discourse is defined imbalance has been scientifically demonstrated”. by Sorrel Pitcher (2013:5) as “a naturally existing This discourse denies any external, non-bio- phenomenon that has an organic basis” ignores logical causes – and solely directs its focus on external factors by locating mental illness the physiological alterations of the brain as the within the biology of a person. Subsequently definitive cause of mental illness. Demoting resulting in individuals having the belief that abuse, poverty, trauma and environmental in- there is something intrinsically wrong with fluences that all have a major contribution to their bodies, their DNA and their hormones altering the brain, as irrelevant and secondary (Pitcher, 2013:5). From a biomedical perspec- to the so-called ‘biological’ causes of mental tive, mental health is framed as a medical health struggles (Ruiz 2017). Approaching dilemma which has to be dealt through pro- mental health from this perspective has been fessional physical examination and treatments said by the British Psychological Society to and not socially. negatively affect the general public. Largely due to the fact that people are being medicated A prime example of how the biomedical for perfectly normal responses to traumatic and discourse use to operate, and still operates painful experiences because they have been within the media, can be seen in Figure 6 - a diagnosed as diseased, sick or ill. Although 1995 advertisement sponsored by the Natural having a mental illness does involve having Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and a different brain chemistry, it does not mean Depression (otherwise known as the NAR that brain chemistry was the original cause of SAD) that was printed in many prominent the illness. Instead, Andrés Ruiz (2017) insists newspapers across the United States. It was that studies that try to prove that brain chang- titled, “Depression is a flaw in chemistry and es are the ultimate cause of mental illness are not in character”, and clearly illustrates how wrong, as often painful experiences alters or this discourse pilots biomedical thinking about causes an imbalance within the brain. disorder (Haslam 2000:1036). Within the advertisement, it goes on to state that “re- By indicating that the sole cause of mental cent medical research has taught us that [it] illness lies within the inherent makeup of the is often biologically caused by a chemical mental health sufferer’s brain chemistry has imbalance in the brain” and therefore “de- led to many locating the fault within themselves pression has a genetic link,” thus constructing instead of within the material surroundings it as an “inherited disease” (Haslam 2000: and experiences which originally caused the 1036). The advertisement indicates that these struggle (Ruiz 2017). Another student recalls findings are “good news” as it confirms that how this way of looking at mental illness affect- mental illnesses such as depression are “phys- ed her. She says that she knew her depression ical disease[s] rather than mental illness[es]” and anxiety did not originally have a biological suggesting that it can only be cured and not cause. No one in her family has suffered from treated (Haslam 2000:1036). Haslam (2000) a severe mental illness.



“I found fault within myself, that somehow the way I had approached life caused me to feel this way. However, upon visiting a psychologist after years of struggling I found out that the chemical balance in my brain had changed. However, it wasn’t the original source of the problem. Instead, my exposure to bullying at school, the trauma I experienced by moving as a child and how I was abused by those in power, all contributed to my depression and anxiety. These traumatic experiences changed the chemicals in my brain, making me more anxious, more defensive and depressive. My surroundings and experiences caused my brain to change, not the other way around. I wish I had known this earlier, that my material surroundings could actually have such a significant effect on the chemicals in my brain.” - Anonymous Student

53 / CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA FIGURE 6 AND FIGURE 7

CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA / 54 FIGURE 8 AND FIGURE 9

55 / CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA This phenomenon that occurs when mental health sufferers conclude that “something is inherently wrong with them” can be understood as a form of self-stigmatization. Stigma is not only reinforced and believed by others in society but also “internalized by the person with the condition” (Ahmedani 2011:6). Self-stigmatization is created and reinforced by the ways in which social or public stigma influences an individual’s feelings about their own condition - often creating feelings of guilt and inadequacy (Ahmedani 2011:6). Within the universi- ty context, it can be said that this form of stigma is the main cause for isolation and denial of mental health problems – es- pecially due to the fact that within the 10-20% of the adoles- cent population struggling with their mental health, most are untreated or undiagnosed (Bantjes 2018). Although not being directly stigmatized by society, the fear of being labelled associated with media’s ‘stereotypical mental health sufferer’, often leads to individuals denying any signs and symptoms. Instead of viewing difficulties with their own mental health as something that needs to be looked into and addressed, Krone (2016) indicates how many students deem any unsettling feelings as ‘normal’. Students often overlook or disregard symptoms for anxiety and depression by categorizing it as stress or as a mental dip. Because media focuses on the individual rather than framing mental illness as a societal issue, society is “more likely to blame the individual for the illness” (Saleh 2019).

CHAPTER ONE : MENTAL HEALTH AND THE MEDIA / 56 1 2 3 4 5 6

57 / CHAPTER ONE : DE-STIGMATIZATION ON CAMPUS De-Stigmatization on Campus “As I continue strolling through the crowds, this freedom that we have granted l anguage becomes increasingly evident. Just in line with my perpetual vision, wo rwdso rds s m o thered wi th c o l o u r f u l e x c i t e m e n t and false promises are plastered on the textured bark of the naked trees. Posters such as these are not uncommon. They often s a tu r a t e the physical and digital walls we encounter, optimistically attempting to address an anx i ousa nh eaanrxt i o us hea rt – o ne l i ke m i n e . Although their words often graze by my eyes, the smothering words of ‘ mental health’ and its accompaniment of ‘self-help strategies’, ‘the need for professional help’ and picturesque diagrams of brains, reignites the isolation which a ‘mental’ health struggle so easily permits. Especially when it comes to the health of the human mind.” (Stellenbosch University student, 2019)

CHAPTER ONE : DE-STIGMATIZATION ON CAMPUS / 58

59 / CHAPTER ONE : DE-STIGMATIZATION ON CAMPUS FIGURE 9, FIGURE 10 AND FIGURE 11

CHAPTER ONE : DE-STIGMATIZATION ON CAMPUS / 60 This account of this student’s experience with Jason Bantjes et al (2017) indicates that the mental health campaigns on campus illustrates university’s conventional ways (such as one- the lack of engaging mental health campaigns to-one therapy) do not always work and are within Stellenbosch University. The predominant not always suitable for students. Therefore, focus of the present campaigns can be grouped new feasible and affordable ways of meeting into two categories: firstly, the promotion of the student’s mental health care needs should university’s on-campus counselling services and be explored and implemented. Instead of lastly the dissemination of media that attempts directly pointing students to a phycologist, to educate the student community about emphasis needs to be put on building a mental health. student community that fosters the develop- ment of interpersonal skills – chipping away at Posters as shown in Figure 9 are not uncommon self-stigmatization, framing it as being socially on campus - they come in a range of different acceptable to ask for help (Bantjes 2018). mediums, displaying a variety of facts. However, Approaching the promotion of on-campus one can identify common goals amongst all of psychologists in a different way could perhaps them: to educate and inform the student commu- aid in detaching negative emotions like fear nity about mental health struggles. Patrick W and embarrassment from engaging with or Corrigan (2018:123) explains how educating is making use of these services. Thus, a type the ‘go-to way’ for our society to de-stigmatize of campaign is needed that focuses on the mental health. Its goal is to challenge the myths kind of relationships students have with their of mental illness with facts – especially as education environment and subsequently, the student is built on the idea that knowledge is the reverse community they are a part of. of ignorance and often leads to discrimination and prejudice (Corrigan 2018:123). However, Corrigan (2018:123) continues by saying that this method is a ‘feckless’ and ‘overrated’ approach and is rarely effective. The second category of posters as shown in Figures 10 & 11, ‘advertises’ the services of on-campus psychologists. Although being a crucial service for the university to have, too much emphasis is put on it – causing it to become more pre dominant than any other type of campaign on campus. Instead of focusing on facilitating and fostering healthy relations between students and their environment, the emphasis on medical intervention reinforces the stigma that a med- ical solution is the only solution and further reinforces the idea that the university will only offer help once you reach a stage where you have a medical ‘need’ for it.

61 / CHAPTER ONE : SHIFTING TOWARDS A RELATIONAL ONTOLOGY S H I F T I N G T OWA R D S A RELATIONAL ONTOLOGY

CHAPTER ONE : SHIFTING TOWARDS A RELATIONAL ONTOLOGY / 62 As a community here at Stellenbosch University, it is urgent that we find ways to redirect the atten- tion from the students who struggle with mental health towards the discourses, reinforced by the media, that form and define mental health for society. Instead of fixating on the isolated identities of those who suffer, we need to redirect our focus to the discourses which stigmatize and alienate such identities. It is important to discover an alternative discourse which shows how these discours- es exist, how they are harmful and how they are further interpreted and understood by society. Given the overview of Social Constructionism and its influences on mental health discourses in the media, this article sets out to reconsider such issues within a materialist framework. To begin with, it remains important to note that the social does remain an important aspect when it comes to how we see things. It is, however, not the only aspect that matters. Social Constructionism and its ex- tractivist tendencies encourage particular interpretations of our world, disavowing different ways of coming to know as unnecessary and irrelevant (Kuntz 2015:61.) In response, a focus on the material aspects of these processes will make available new modes of inquiry that are not beholden to the assumptions of Social Constructionism. Andrew Kuntz (2015:65) explains this beautifully by saying that “through knowing differently we come to be different. Through being different we come to be newly productive pieces of knowledge”. In other words, alternative ways of knowledge-mak- ing can provide us with the possibility of creating alternative ways of being (Kuntz 2015:62). Perhaps most especially, we need a social irritant – something which activates normative process to ex- cite visibility and change (Kuntz 2015:67). Something which will make visible that which would have oth- erwise remained hidden as it exposes our relational ways of engaging with our world (Kuntz 2015:67). Mcphie (2019:28) defines these relations as a “relational ontology” - where there is a focus on relations rather than substances, emergence rather than structure, how things become rather than what they already are. Through applying this way of thinking, it contradicts Social Constructionism’s extractive and relativistic onto-epistemologies which form the lens through which we view the world. Relativism emphasizes how each “individual experience is distinct, disengaged and set apart from others” (Kuntz 2015:74). In comparison, instead of “leading to separateness and detachment, relationality neces- sitates a dynamic connection between all acts of knowing, doing, and becoming” (Kuntz 2015:74). A relational ontology emphasizes the need to understand the “processes involved in the pro- duction of mental health and well-being” (Mcphie 2019:30). Thus encouraging “people’s awareness of their web-like relations with the environments they are ultimately part of, poten- tially helping them to become (re-)embodied” (Mcphie 2019:30). Within a student communi- ty, gaining this awareness is critical. Through exploring how students “leak and spill into” (Mc- phie 2019:30) the Stellenbosch University environment and that which is connected to it (and vice versa), this relational (new materialist) inquiry can act as a much-needed social irritant (Kuntz 2015:67). It a move away from Social Constructionism, langauge , discourses and stigma s



CHAPTER ONE : SUMMARY / 64 CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter has drawn on an analysis of Social Constructionist and extractivist theories which are currently informing our understanding of mental health in our contemporary society and more specifically in the student community at Stellenbosch University. Thereafter supporting this analysis by utilizing examples of how the media reinforces biomedical, danger and behaviour and appearance discourses through extracting the knowledge which informs them from the material envi- ronment. I applied this understanding to the Stellenbosch University campus by analysing current and previous mental health campaigns aimed at the student body, which focused on education and providing help over fostering relations that could lead to a healthier student community. Lastly, I provided a new relational ontological perspective through which mental health can be seen as produced through relations instead of being located in the individual.

65 / CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO / 66



CHAPTER TWO : INTRODUCTION / 68 INTRODUCTION In this chapter I will be using Timothy Holloway’s interpretation of Blauvelt’s text. He explores this method of design in a way which is more fitting for the context of my own practice. Especially the way in which he differentiates relational design from interactive and fixed design and subsequently how he explores its practical application. By applying his take on relation- al design, we can look at how through its three components of: the design creating a social environment; content being defined collectively through audience engagement and the designer as an enabler: moving from design for someone to designing with someone ; one can facilitate the de-stigmati- zation of mental health on campus. And additionally, how it is able to achieve this through looking at the relations between people and their environment instead of the social constructions. Lastly affect theory will be explored in terms of happy objects and how they have led to the development of my brand.

69 / CHAPTER TWO : A NEW WAY OF DESIGNING A N E W WAY O F D E S I G N I N G Design, like all other practices within society, has been heavily influenced by Social Constructionist tendencies. The creation of a ‘language of form’ or ‘visual language’, in essence, became a way of visually rendering and presenting hegemonic ideologies. Put differently, design is a powerful tool used by a designer to visually represent things such as ideas, beliefs, values and questions. However, in the process of doing this, the designer controls the parameters of the audience experience and enga- gement. The design becomes a representation of ideologies chosen by the designer. These representations can never reflect reality itself and subsequently shuts the door to any possibility of change due to their finite arrangement of matter (Kuntz 2016:77). It is time to move towards a more relational way of knowing – especially in design. It is of paramount importance to integrate this relational framework, not just into theory but also into our practice. Andrew Blauvelt dubs this relational ontological design practice as ‘Relational Design’ which he describes in his manifesto Towards Relational Design (2011) as :

CHAPTER TWO : A NEW WAY OF DESIGNING / 70 “Open ended-solutions rather than closed systems; real world constraints and contexts over idealized utopias; relational connections instead of reflexive imbrication; in lieu of the forlor n designer, the possibility of many designers; the loss of designs that are highly controlled and proscribed and the ascendancy of enabling or generative systems; the end of discrete objects, hermetic meanings, and the beginning of connected ecologies.” (Nevolution 2010)

71 / CHAPTER TWO : A NEW WAY OF DESIGNING In short, relational design cannot simply be classified as a movement or a style but should rather be approached and understood as reflecting the role of the designer and design in relation to the surrounding world (Blauvelt 2008). It’s a form of design with no intention of being functional but instead with the intention to gauge behavioral reactions, therefore allowing it to eclipse “the cultural and symbolic logic of content -based design and the aesthetic” (Blauvelt 2008:2). Blauvelt (2008) categorizes Relational Design as being the third phase of design that we are currently progressing towards. In order to further understand its emergence, one must briefly look at the two preceding phases. The first phase of design occurred in the early 20th century and was as Blauvelt (2008:2) puts it “the birth of the -isms”, a phase where “form begets form”. It pointed out the significance of simplification and reductionism in achieving a global language that could be spread throughout the world (Nevolution 2010). The sec- ond phase of design commenced in the 1960’s, where focus was put on meaning making, symbolism, narrative potential and semantic dimension - in other words, it was “pre-occu- pied by its essential content” (Blauvelt 2008:2). This phase promoted the idea of the ‘designer as author’ and as the sole contributor to form and content. Blauvelt (2008:2) explains how the production of meaning was still situated with the designer, despite ample discussion taking place about the readers numerous interpretations. Given the brief overview of the previous two eras in the arts, we can now consider the era of “relationally based, contextu- ally specific design” (Blauvelt 2008:2). Emerging in the mid 1990’s, relational design became an exploration of the performative and participatory dimensions of design. It is an era of design that has moved away from the exploration of form and content towards the exploration of “the realm of context in all its manifestations: social, cultural, political and geographical” (Blauvelt 2008).

CHAPTER TWO : A NEW WAY OF DESIGNING / 72 1 2 3 4



CHAPTER TWO : RELATIONAL DESIGN / 74 RELATIONAL DE SIGN In both fixed and interactive design, the design is pre-established without the influence of the audience. The audience is only able to engage and navigate the design as a passive or fully designed system. The user can have an independent or shared experience; however, the available content is constant regardless of who uses it and how they engage with it (Holloway 2012:4). Interactive and relational design can easily be confused - even I did so at first. However, as I experienced the constraints of my own design, I realized shifting towards a relational approach will provide my designs with more meaning making capabilities. The way in which I realized this was after I created my data collection design installation shown in Figure 12 titled: Do You Feel Weighed Down? (2019). Each participant had to select a weighted sphere based on how much they felt weighed down and place it onto the net on the box 3. After this each participant chose one or several support systems from a range of tags (as shown in Figure 13) and hung it on the sides of the box 4. 3 I specifically chose to categorize the spheres 4 The purpose of this was to visually represent by weight and neutral metallic colors in order the support networks of the student community. to avoid participants associating socially constructed colors or numbers relating to mood with their feelings/what’s weighing them down. Instead the aim was for them to directly feel the weight and compare it to the heaviness felt when stress (e.g. having a heavy heart/ feeling pressure or chest tightness). This also allows for the exact weight to be unknown to those not participating, only participants will know the true weight of the sphere they chose.



CHAPTER TWO : RELATIONAL DESIGN / 76 As more spheres were placed on the net, the netting began to sink; eventually causing some spheres to fall through5 - highlighting the urgent need to strengthen the support systems of students. Lastly, as the spheres dropped, there were cups at the bottom of the box representing the universities mental health support system. Catching the balls in the cup metaphor- ically represented how the institution only provides support once a student falls through, and even then, they are only able to catch a small minority of these students. Although this intervention provided me with new insights and data regarding mental health on campus , its full potential as a ‘conversation piece’ was restricted by its pre-designed fixed state. The students were only able to engage with the installation and shape the content through the designed parameters that I as designer set for them. In other words, as explained by Holloway (2012:5) “they can only interact with the designed system, they are not able to create a new path to the narrative”. This initiative lacked the empowerment and characterization of a ‘social irritant’ which was needed in this case to enable social change. The concepts and issues were represented in a fixed and literal way to the audience and prevented new meaningful relations to be established. 5 This represents how our support 6 Through being present during the installation networks can only support us so I was able to engage with the participants in much. order to gather information on the success of my trial intervention. Many students highlighted that the intervention “makes you think” – espe- cially about the institution being the university. Furthermore, many participants described the display of the results as “sad” as its shows “how many students are stressing” and “how much support students actually need”. Most students agreed that more mental health structures need to be set in place- they felt that the interven- tions’ visual representation allowed them to highlight and better understand something they were already aware of.





79 / CHAPTER TWO : THE E’RWODY STICKER INITIATIVE THE E’RWODY STICKER INITIATIVE In order to exemplify relational design, one can look at one of my campaign projects. Where through a ‘trial and error’ approach I ventured towards the creation of my first relationally designed project - the E’rwody sticker initiative. At first the aim of the initiative had nothing to do with stickers, nor relational design. Instead, its intended use was solely to generate visual research for my E’rwody campaign. By placing numerous copies of the four different posters represented in Figure 14, throughout the visual art department; I hoped to probe to students to respond to my campaign mascot – the Irrawaddy Dolphin. However, as the posters quickly became saturated with responses, I altered my aims for the project. The goal became to simul- taneously initiate an experimental intervention in which I sought to investigate, firstly the willingness of students to participate, and secondly, the ways in which a basic intervention could have the possibility of disrupting normative daily processes.



79 / CHAPTER TWO : THE E’RWODY STICKER INITIATIVE FIGURE 14

CHAPTER TWO : THE E’RWODY STICKER INITIATIVE / 82 FIGURE 15 & 16

83 / CHAPTER TWO : THE E’RWODY STICKER INITIATIVE FIGURE 17

CHAPTER TWO : THE E’RWODY STICKER INITIATIVE / 84 FIGURE 18

85 / CHAPTER TWO : THE E’RWODY STICKER INITIATIVE As evident in Figure 14, the posters acted as to help distribute the stickers on campus. At the a participatory piece, simply asking students back of each sticker were suggestions for use, to interpret the photo either through text or asking the students to use them and if possible, image . Materials such as a pen were provided document and share the process as shown in for convenience however as shown in Figure 15 Figure 19. Suggesting that students keep it or participants used their own creative expressions use it to make someone else happy. and artistic techniques. After a week, I re- moved the posters in order to gather the results. The sticker project was a simple initiative which As seen in Figures 15 and 16, the posters became encouraged the promotion of care and a sense a cluttered collection of aesthetic expressions of coming together within the student community. - each interpretation completely different to This relational design process highlights the the next. I decided to build on these visual importance of the relation between human and results by transforming the drawings into stickers. non-human material objects. It emphasizes how Staying true to the principles of relational something as basic as a sticker has the ability design, I asked students to vote for their four to accumulate relational meaning and instigate favorite designs. social change. These relations are especially important when we consider our aims to de- Throughout the process the dynamic relation- stigmatize mental health. The formation of ship between the student and the material relationships between students is important in object (stickers) of the image made room for the formation of a more understanding commu- new meanings to be added, building upon nity. The application, use, meaning and context one another. The collective result of the stickers of their placement was up to the student. symbolized a community effort to create Although this resembles the characteristics something which resulted in a generative of interactive design, it becomes relational feedback loop - where production and con- through the way in which the interactions and sumption became intertwined (Holloway 15). outcome of it is created through the participants Within the feedback loop the output is fed back engagement and interaction with it. in as input further stimulating the resulting output. This allows it to generatively accumulate unexpected responses through an additive system – where with each loop the audience continues to alter the final design (Holloway 2012:15). As the stickers developed from the design phase (Figure 17) to the production and distribution phase (Figure 18), the generative feedback loop continued as students were asked FIGURE 19



87 / CHAPTER TWO : THE DESIGNER AS ENABLER THE DESIGNER AS ENABLER With that said, the sticker initiative indicated to me the im- portance of re-defining the role of the designer within the creation of a campaign. As the designer of the initiative, my role shifted towards that of the enabler and conductor – with my part not extending further than finalizing the formal quali- ties of the designs in order to commence printing. In essence, when looking from a relational post humanist ontological per- spective, the designer’s role becomes synonymous with that of the methodologist or researcher in Kuntz’s writings. The role of the designer in instigating change is crucial. If the design- er continues to make use of extractivistic logics, the simplistic and reductive results that it produces means that there is little hope for any progressive social change and de-stigmatization. As designers, we need to steer people instead of controlling them. For instance, in the E’rwody sticker campaign, as the de- signer, I facilitated a starting point, opening the workshop up for contributions as I allows it to develop on its own (Holloway 2012:15). A designer’s role within the relational design prac- tice is to create something that is not fixed but instead open to possibilities – the participants are able to use and influence the design in unpredictable ways. Relational ontological design emphasizes the importance of thinking of new ways “to build in affordances that allow for these provisional uses” (Holloway 2012:56).Relational design offers the designer the ability to empower individuals. Specifically, as through this method of design you don’t design for, you design with – allowing each participant to have a voice through their interaction with the design, the context, you as the designer and other participants.



89 / CHAPTER TWO : CONTEXT

CHAPTER TWO : CONTEXT / 90 CONTEXT:CREATING A SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT Emphasis on context within relational design can therefore be said to be an important factor that differentiates this new method from previous phases and modes of design. It offers a departure from private into communal spaces. When we consider context, we are integrating the audience and the design and viewing them as inter-connected, merging into one another. In the same vein as the design, the context has a particular purpose which allows for meaning to be constructed. Context allows the creation of a collaborative space, where the designer sets up a particular space and allows the audience to interpret it as they please. As a designer you “make use of characteristics inherent in a space and of basic human behaviors to govern that space… rather than trying to force a system that separates everyone” (Holloway 2012:53). You use the already present relationships, people and elements within a space to establish new relations with the design. As said by Holloway (2012:39) “it becomes about living through a space rather than looking at a space”. For instance, when looking at the example of the sticker initiative, the context of the art department posters in the initial phase allowed for a specific meaning to be attributed to it. It created a collaborative space where someone could stop, take a break and interact with it. Thus, it essentially breaks free from being limited to only the material or the object, but instead that meaning is found in the environment around it. Andrew Blauvelt adds to this by explaining how design is contextually sensitive as it responds to the audience and the environment.This is especially important when one aims to de-stigmatize mental health. Through establishing these relations, a more caring environment can be created as we focus on mental health as process spread in the environment instead of something which is solely contained within the individual.

AFFECT THEORY

Affect has been a critical part of the aforementioned discussions and thus its importance within relational design and henceforth within my practice needs to be stressed and unpacked, especially in terms of the third aspect of relational design: content being defined collectively through audience engagement. Firstly, affect can be defined as an impersonal feeling that precedes emotional states, it is an experience of intensity that you cannot consciously adhere to, nor can it be realized fully in language (Then & Now 2019). Affect continues on from chapter one’s rela- tional ontologies, as it is located in amongst the relations that simultaneously compose both beings and worlds. We are interpolated subjects – the mind is affected by everything in a certain way and in being affected, is moulded by external forces (Then & Now 2019). Whether it is by objects (such as the stickers) or by context- there is always an affective or integrated conjunction of both human and non-human components, this occurs as a continual networked exchange (Pankonien 2018:2). This is especially important when looking at mental health struggles such a depres- sion- as it is a consequence of the affect of everyday experiences that are personified by our relations with the world (Pankonien 2018:4). To fully understand the affect or sensation an object has, you must fully encounter the object, this includes everything that pertains to the ‘what’ of the object, including the background of the object and the specific conditions pertaining to its arrival (Ahmed 2010:34). This is the power of affect in producing a ‘happy object’- where happiness “turns towards objects”; to experience joy or happiness from an object, you must recognise that happi- ness begins from somewhere other than the subject that might uses the associated word(s) to describe the situation. In other words, happiness can be said to form as a promise that directs us toward such objects (Ahmed 2010:29). What if something as small as a sticker has the ability to affect students? Re-inviting the contexts within the univer- sity through something like a ‘happy object’- especially as groups cohere around shared interests or, in this case, a shared opinion towards a good object (Ahmed 2010:35). Affect can be identified as a useful tool in applying theory to practice - allowing for the creations of new ways of conceptualizing other people, the world and our position within such interconnected existences, as well as new relationships with these groups and ideas (Pankonien 2018:6). That through a kind of ‘intervention’, affect has the possibility to produce a drive within the mind that can mould it inside or around a block. It can generate new ways of problem solving, of movement, of idea forming and of being joyful about the present (Pankonien 2018:6) thus enabling people to overcome their circumstances and allowing them to dream new visions of the future and, further, to hold onto these dreams (Pankonien 2018:7). This can be identified as a highly important factor in relational design as within its creation, it is not pre-occupied by the object, but by the effects extending beyond it (Holloway 2012:17). When an intervention makes use of audience defined aesthetic it resists social formatting through removing the ‘top-down’ method of communication. In other words, instead of a ‘fixed design’ where the viewer is instructed how to think, act, do etc. in a certain way, relational design allows the audience to actively contribute and shape the outcome. By doing this the subject matter is altered from the ‘one to many’ towards the ‘many to many’ (Holloway 2012:23). Through the applications of affect into design, it can be seen how the embodiment of the audience as a community is used to transfer the artwork from an encounter between viewer and object. In so doing, relational design introduces shared, intersubjective encounters. (Holloway 2012:19). As previously stated, we become affected by our encounters with things, and thus in relational design, its unrestricted outcome allows for the participants to affectively produce their own ideas and concepts. Said differently, it allows participants to become empowered as their constructing their own realities. Continuing from this, this empowerment involves establishing networks and rallying social support, these together promote unity between individuals and can help in supporting individuals through vulnerable and difficult transitions and periods in life (WHO 2010:1). This is especially important when one considers that many studies have confirmed the benefit social connections have, especially in protecting individuals against mental health risks (Krone 2016:29). Being included as a member of the society in which we live is imperative to the material, psychological an even political empowerment that is necessary for our equitable health and social well-being. Individual empowerment is designed to assist individuals to adopt an autonomous way of living and to strive for self-determination and, in so doing, to exert a greater amount of influence in decision- making processes in our social and political spheres, thereby further increasing self-esteem (WHO 2010:1)





95 / CHAPTER TWO : HAPPY OBJECTS AND THE E’RWODY BRAND HAPPY OBJECTS AND THE E’RWODY BRAND Continuing on from that, one of the most effective ways to facilitate empowerment is through the establishment of a cohesive brand. Thus, the brand ‘SUpport’8 became a starting point where I could apply theory to practice. Through collab- orating with the SRC’s already established mental health task team , I aspired to create a new mental health platform within Stellenbosch University. As shown in Figure 20, the previous representation of the brand – a blue ribbon9, could be seen as problematic due to its relation and reinforcement of the biomedical discourse . Particularly due to the possibility of it reinforcing mental health stigma, preventing the effectiveness of the SUpport brand and subsequently any campaigns associated with it. 8SUpport describes themselves as “a 9 In society the ribbon symbolizes “disability, student-led initiative that is focused on medical conditions and other health issues” destigmatising the mental health conversation (Pulseuniform.com, 2018). Although a very and finding sustainable, creative solutions effective and recognizable visual signifier, to address the ever-rising issue of student within the context of this study, its connection depression, anxiety, and other mental health to medical campaigns such as breast cancer difficulties.” In this vein, #SUpport is steadfast awareness, HIV/Aids awareness or diabetes and proactive in three fundamental portfolios, awareness could be seen as reinforcing instead with each portfolio in itself being a deliverable of de-stigmatizing mental health discourses to the SU student body” (Hugo, 2019) (Pulseuniform.com, 2018).