Binge-watching your favorite tv-series, playing online video games or simply daydreaming of a different life; we all need a break from reality sometimes. ‘Escapism’ is the term used for this mental diversion from our realities through activities, imagination or other forms of entertainment. The escape industries are booming and the need to escape reality seems widespread. Yet, the term escapism is often used with a negative connotation and seen as a character flaw as it is associated with avoiding or neglecting problems, duties and responsibilities.

Many studies examining the concept of escapism focus on the negative effects it could have on one’s life. However, fewer studies have explored the positive effects escapism may have. With this project, we propose that escapism is not just a means of escape, but also a process of creation. From this perspective, the negative perception of escapism can be challenged; could escapism also be seen as a creative, collective and self-expanding process of transformation that creates something new?

As we gather is an artistic inquiry into what slow, collective, self-expanding escapism is, what it could bring and how it adds to our conventional understanding of the term ‘escapism’. The project's outcome is a physical interactive audio-visual installation that creates a slow collective self-expanding experience in which the audience influences the physical appearance and the soundscape of the installation.

This project conducts research and process of the four-month MA New Media Design capstone project at the University of Europe for applied sciences.