The MASS Collective, Pop-Up Store, Speculative Design, 2015.
Published in FRAME Magazine, 2015. In collaboration with: Lennart Bras, Mijke Pasmans & Iris de Vries
Today’s society and consumption system has shaped the current behaviour of the consumer and gave the consumption system an absurd character. People seem to continue to buy without thinking about the consequences that they cause.
The sociologist Colin Campbell says: “It is not the direct use of the consumer goods, but the desire for that product and the fantasy of what it will bring us gives satisfaction. The actual purchase of the product is only one way to support that illusion. Once the product is purchased, our desire is aimed at new fantasies.”
If we start with the idea of Campbell, we find that the term ‘Fata Morgana’ could be used as a metaphor for our current consumption behaviour. Fata Morgana is a mirage that creates an illusion. It is seen as a fictional “light in the darkness”. The purchase of a consumer good creates the same illusion, according to Campbell. You think you will buy something that will satisfy your desires but after purchasing the good your desire will directly be focused on something else, the next fantasy. We might even say that the Fata Morgana is a metaphor for utopia. The Fata Morgana shows your greatest temporary desires. However, these desires are visualized but far from reality.
We are the MASS collective and we are offering you an alternative use of a product to declare your independence from the consumption society.