Sanjana Gopalak Krishnan

This is an era defined by instability, from political unrest to capitalism to commercialization that disrupts our lives in many ways. Combined, these issues foster a context and ambiance of disruption, displacement, and oppression, especially for youth, who live in constant flux, experiencing a sense of being lost and searching for purpose, inclusivity, and the "authentic self." Throughout history, oppressed youth have turned to countercultural strategies developed to question authority and promote resistance through actions of joy, pleasure, and care.

Joy as a form of resistance is a propulsive force. Anything that gathers and channels that energy threatens the rigid control of a population, because it creates energy for change, contrasting with and countering the rigidity and control of oppressive structures in a nonviolent way. Protests offer a means for social movements to create or strengthen emotional bonds between their adherents and to establish or strengthen a collective identity. In an institutional context, the powerful emotions of joy and solidarity are often mistaken for violence. 

The question arises: Can activism in institutional environments be structured to support and amplify transformative joy—and, if so, how?

This thesis reveals how joyful disruption in the form of protest is often misinterpreted as violence and explores ways this phenomenon can be redefined through subversive architecture and countercultural strategies. Embracing the concept of the "undesigned" and employing tactics to circumvent political constraints, I use minimal demountable artifacts to "hack" into existing infrastructure as a way to reimagine liberal narratives in institutional scenarios. Ultimately, this project underscores the significance of design as a political art, a way to establish dialogues with power and challenge institutions.