Social Issue Clock

What is school bullying?

Research on bullying started more than forty years ago, when the phenomenon was defined as aggressive, intentional acts carried out by a group or an individual repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself. School bullying can affect everyone, those who are bullied, who bully, and who witness bullying. Bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use and suicide. In North America, public concern about school bullying increased dramatically in the late 1990s, because the large part to the deaths of youth by suicide or murder. The School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey collected data on bullying by asking students if they had been bullied at school during the school year. In 2017, about 20% of students ages 12 to18 reported being bullied at school.

Process Clock

In the process of clock design, I started with drafts. During the initial brainstorming, I thought about everything about the subject, including keywords, inspiration, ideas, and drafts of some solutions. 

Later I tried both the ring and square schemes, but they were both literal. I need to explore deeper emotions and feelings under the surface phenomenon of school bullying. Design as a language of communication should not only express what school bullying is, but also call for empathy which is more important. 

Then I tried the third scheme, starting with the idea of the inner world of children who suffered from school bullying to express their helplessness and anxiety, sadness and loneliness.The whole design is to show why we need to value school bullying.

Final Clock

During the production process, I divided the clock into three layers. The bottom layer is a group of students represented by triangles, and red represents students who have suffered school bullying. The random arrangement of triangles also shows the randomness of school bullying. The ratio of red and white is also the ratio of students who are subjected to school bullying in reality. 

The middle layer is the motor-driven hand, the big red triangle is the hour hand, and the word "Isolation" is engraved as the direction indicating time. The top layer is staggered black lines, which can be either the psychological state of students suffering from school bullying, or it can be understood as the bullying is shrouded on the students. 

I use acrylic as a material for visual performance. It is hard and not easily deformed, it is not heavy and the motor can work.