Core77 reports that Cheng was part of a 2-day workshop on design addressing mundane problems, and she came up with this—a way to keep strangers at bay in crowded situation.
This is a project dealing with everyday realities: wishes left unsaid, ideas unexpressed. What *would* be the right amount of space granted, and the right amount of flexibility for those around you? It's hard to say, exactly, but these devices start to imagine that negotiation.
Made from pre-fabbed strips of material designed to keep pets away from plants, these are wearable defensive mechanisms, for those brave enough to use them. More from Siew Ming Cheng.
Images: A woman wears a green mesh "vest" of perforated material, complete with spikes out the sides to ward off fellow commuters on a train. Sharp ends extend from shoulders and arms to indicate personal space. Renderings exhibit the scale and operation of the material.