Project Concept
The T-shirt functions as a canvas for original graphic design and a space for conceptual discourse, continuing the traditions of 1960s art. This project, featuring T-shirts with quotes from deceased philosophers and artists about modern technology, is built on the ironic collision of different eras. Its intellectual value lies in the delicate balance between humor and serious thought—a thought that, overcoming temporal distance, takes on a new resonance and compels the viewer to re-evaluate the present through the lens of the past.
The project is inspired by Michel Foucault’s ideas concerning surveillance, discipline, and power dynamics.
Through the design of the shirt’s front and back, I am exploring the relationship between the individual and systems of observation in contemporary digital society.
Front and Back Design
The front of the T-shirt features a surveillance camera, symbolizing constant monitoring. The back displays a faceless human figure, representing the individual under observation and the potential loss of individuality.
The camera and the faceless figure create a visual contrast between the observing system and the observed human.
Design Details
1. VISIBILITY—THE TRAP. This phrase relates to Michel Foucault’s analysis of the Panopticon. It illustrates how visibility can become a tool of control: when a person is constantly subject to observation, they begin to self-regulate their behavior.
2. THEY SEE HIM, BUT HE DOES NOT SEE. This phrase is drawn from Michel Foucault’s thoughts on the Panopticon in the book «Discipline and Punish.» It reflects the asymmetry in surveillance relations: the person is visible to the observer, but they cannot see the system watching them.
The inscriptions in Russian and Chinese not only convey the project’s meaning but also become part of the garment’s design.
For the visual design, I incorporate a distressed black t-shirt, black-and-white graphics, grainy texture, and hand-stitched fabric elements featuring text. These techniques translate the philosophical concept into an experimental visual language rooted in independent fashion aesthetics.
