The Second Self Laboratory by Jan Pieter Kaptein

The Stranger
The stranger was born in a land far, far away. He looks, acts and smells different from us. He’s the object of both our fear and curiosity. His presence creates a strong feeling of unity within our communities.

The Cursed Man
The Cursed man was at the wrong place at the wrong time. We are afraid his misfortune is contagious and therefore we ignore him. His outsider perspective provides him with a very special kind of wisdom.

The Judge
The judge decides whether we are good or bad people. The good people will live in freedom; the bad people will lose their life.

The Monster
The monster is a creature with a small brain but a huge body. He’s living his lonely life in remote areas. He is the personification of the uncontrolled nature surrounding us.

Mr. Ordinary
Mr. Ordinary seems to be a pretty easy-going fellow. But don’t be fooled! When Mr. Ordinary is deprived from his basic needs (safety, comfort, food and sex) he turns out to be a killing-machine.

Today’s post is brought to you by Halloween. Kidding. But not really. The Second Self Laboratory is a graduation project by Jan Pieter Kaptein from Design Academy Eindhoven. The premise of the project is to highlight the idea that wearing a disguise, or dressing a certain way, can really change how we behave and how other people perceive us. I’m sure this is something we’ve all experienced in our everyday life, although this project takes things to the extreme.

At The Second Self Laboratory, you can try out different social roles by wearing a costume. You can be a judge, a stranger, monster, outcast or Mr. Ordinary. The collection of costumes is based on archetypical characters from literature, theatre and mythology.

“The costumes function as universal symbols, revealing information about rights, duties, abilities and social status. Wearing them does not only influence your image, but also your self-perception and behaviour. Explore your character by changing your clothes.”

The laboratory was on show during Dutch Design Week 2013 at DAE. If you’re lucky to be in Eindhoven anytime soon, you can catch it again at Van Abbemuseum before 17 November.

By the way, I’m quite aware of the irony of placing this post in the Design Free Thursday category. After all, this project is a product of one of the world’s most acclaimed design schools (which I previously wrote about here). Having said this, it’s so hardcore “conceptual and stuff” and plain funny that I can’t take too seriously.