Popular literature suggests that schizophrenics have found a place in human society – however reluctantly: some of them are considered “creative anti-social artists”, from Van Gogh to Adolf Wölffli, who uses art as a medium for constructing themselves and confronting their mental anguish. The problem is, however, that the world is always more punitive than caring, and I have often wondered if these special artists also need a “safe” place to “go mad,” a positive space in which to experience mental anguish and enlightenment! The aim of this project is to explore how schizophrenic patients can explore their artistry and inner world in space by researching the Rorschach inkblot projective experiment, the concept of art therapy, and the typological commonalities between psychiatric hospitals and gallery spaces, in order to construct a speculative “asylum” that could replace traditional medication or surgery. Here, more romantic treatments will replace scientific rigour, creativity will be encouraged, and bizarre delusions will be communicated!

There is a common phenomenon behind schizophrenic artists’ fantastic artworks, Projection. The patients all unconsciously reveal their past experiences and the dark side of their hearts in their creations, such as terrible childhood experiences, evil beliefs, and their sufferings. Therapists consider projection to be a self-defensive mechanism where the patients attribute their negative emotions and experiences to other objects or person to alleviate their anguish. Inspired by this, I hope to construct an art asylum in this project that could encourage people’s self-projection to face their mental anguish, release anguish and get enlightened.

Rorschach Inkblot Test, the most famous psychological projective test in history, and it is also the most classic case of combining art and psychology in history. In this test, patients were required to look at ambiguous inkblots to answer what they saw. The imagery seen in the patterns projected their subconsciousness, revealing their true inner world and pain.

Berent Willock in his book “ Projection, Rorschach and Transitional space” suggests that when people step into a space filled with ambiguous visual stimuli, they initiate an unconscious process of construction, trying to use their own real experiences to construct self-perceptions, in order to find a balance between their inner and outside worlds, to escape from their sufferings.

Berent goes further with the idea of Rorschach world, arguing that the inkblot test helps people enter a separate world, a bridge of connection that helps people find a window of projection for their pain outside the reality.

This makemakesbelieve that Rorschach could be a solution for constructing a speculative asylum. So I try to work out how to incorporate Rorschach into the design of a space.