“‘I communicate, therefore I am’ is the defining affirmation of contemporary existence”. MoMA

A black rubber-clad cube with half-metre thick, metal-lined walls, is a philosophical endeavour to provide the increasingly impossible experience of being truly alone; of being undetectable.

On face value, it is extremely simple; it is the manifestation of a philosophical concept. But it is designed to send people off on a chain reaction of thoughts. In this way, the project and reactions to it are a barometer of our time. As well as addressing more fundamental ontological questions, the installation can be a tool to discuss more contemporary issues such as rights to privacy, social responsibility and the need to escape and freedom. In the same way, it indirectly raises the question of speculative design: are we heading into a future where we are never alone? Will devices like these be required in the future to satisfy a public need?