Objection!

Vitra Design Museum presents 2014 Hong Kong’s student protests through the objects spawned by the movement, to show that design can function as an agent of change in politics.

Study Room, Hong Kong, 2014. Photo © David Leung. Courtesy MIRO

When spontaneous student protests erupted in Hong Kong on 28 September 2014 as a reaction to proposed changes in the electoral process, the global media was rife with images not only of the protesters themselves, but also the myriad informal structures and designs they had created.

Barricades, shelter and sculptures were constructed from everyday objects, the umbrellas that coined the movement’s name were used for protection from police enforcement. The exhibition presents this act of civil disobedience through the objects that were spawned by the movement, illustrating that design not only shapes and defines products, but can function as an agent of change in politics, communication and social innovation.