Gallery
Experiment overview
A post-pandemic field exploration of alternative ways of living, born from questioning whether the systems framing contemporary life truly serve human and ecological wellbeing, especially in moments of global crisis.
This deeply personal experiment involved consciously stepping outside dominant technological and economic structures in order to experience, rather than theorise, what alternative systems might look like in everyday practice.
Through deliberate acts of withdrawal, adaptation, and experimentation, the project became both a field research and an embodied process of unlearning.
Main objectives
Prompted by the pandemic’s exposure of systemic fragility, I embarked on a practical investigation of post-capitalistic and self-sufficient living strategies.
Key explorations included:
☀︎ Switching to a basic phone to confront my dependency on constant connectivity
☀︎ Navigating space without digital maps, relearning orientation through embodied awareness and human interaction
☀︎ Experimenting with barter economies by exchanging clothing and services outside monetary systems
☀︎ Exploring alternative energy logics and sailing as pathways towards greater autonomy
☀︎ Temporarily living near an aeroclub to learn gliding, driven by a desire to understand non-conventional modes of mobility and preparedness
Main reflection
This journey revealed that meaningful alternatives are not found in radical rejection but in conscious recalibration.
My initial prepper mindset shaped by technological anxiety and apocalyptic imagination proved far less transformative than learning how to cultivate balance, connection, and adaptability within imperfect systems.
I came to recognise the fragile boundaries of non-monetary exchange, where good intentions can unintentionally reproduce dependency and exploitation. Yet most importantly, I discovered that the world is not as unstable as my fears projected.
Although I have since reintegrated into conventional systems, I retained what proved truly valuable: sailing, intentional technology use, and a grounded understanding of which alternative practices genuinely nourish resilience rather than merely simulate escape.