064 We Can Jump This High

Designed by: Nikolas Ettel, Lidia Ratoi, and Annie Lye

Design Trust Affiliation: Design Trust Seed Grantee

Description: 

Within 24 hours of announcing precautionary measures around COVID-19, the Leisure & Cultural Services Department (LCSD) barricaded all public parks and sporting equipment in public spaces with red-and-white plastic bands throughout Hong Kong; a visual manifestation of safety measures for engineered pandemic restrictions. 

‘We Can Jump This High’ takes inspiration from these restrictions by questioning the form and function of barricade tapes and translating it into a tangible object of play. The final product is a jumping rope, cast out of coloured-concrete. Its deliberate weight and impracticality highlights the multi-layered dimensions of the original tape, which is lightweight, malleable, and socially-significant. In comparison, our casted object is heavy, dense, and an object of “play” that encourages social-cohesion. The jumping rope object intends to spark a playful discourse about our current challenging times.

Image Credit: Nikolas Ettel, Lidia Ratoi, and Annie Lye