Concentration
Dispensing Mechanisms
Recently, I’ve found myself working long into the night. Before heading to sleep, I’d go through the habitual routine of brushing my teeth, taking a shower, and then drying myself off. Usually, a hot shower after a long day of work is much appreciated. However, for the past week, I’ve found myself so tired and sleep-derived that from the moment I step into the bathroom until the long-awaited reunion with my pillow, everything seems to become a blur.
Out of this seemingly feverish and dizzying smear, a few snapshots seem to stand out among my memory, namely, when I press on the pump for my shampoo, when I squeeze on the tube for my toothpaste, or when I at last pump out just the right amount moisturizer.
Reflecting upon this, I realize there is much elegance and simplicity in these dispensing mechanisms; they have become such integral parts of our lives that their impact and even very existence often go unnoticed.
Perhaps that is also where their beauty lies. As meticulous feats of engineering and design, these devices are ingrained in human culture. For generations (probably since the 1800s when toothpaste was first invented), parents have taught their children how to use the toothpaste. Can you imagine if toothpaste were no longer packaged in tubes but rather in bottles and the fundamental change that would lead to in society?
My drawing is a nod to the subtle and intuitive nature of dispensing mechanisms. For the countless times shampoo is pumped out of the bottle, does anyone stop to think about the pump that makes it happen?
The charcoal is used as an appeal to dramatization, when people have, for so long, viewed these things with indifference. An attempt to finally and deservedly put them at the centre stage and, ultimately, a celebration of not only the things but the many people in society who silently act as crucial links between us and the things we need, who deliver things that are most needed.
To my shampoo pump, to my toothpaste tube, to my face wash bottle, thank you!