MANIFESTO

Social medias were created following a pernicious concept: an invention exclusively intended for adults, which children will seek to appropriate in a subversive manner, as they do with anything that is contraindicated for them. This results in a one-way trip from the world of children to that of adults, with no possible return. A situation that poorly accompanies the aging of a population where everyone reaches adulthood and consumer life faster than ever, driven by an eternal cycle of "desire for an object - satisfaction of the desire through purchase."

By offering an object intended for children but which adults are allowed to appropriate as their own, Ryvdoll reverses this trend. By providing the opportunity to temporarily isolate themselves in a bubble of innocence, Ryvdoll bridges the gap between the world of adults and that of children, thus revitalizing an imagination and concentration harshly tested by the omnipresence of screens.

For the same reasons that lead architects to prefer models over ultra-efficient computer simulations, Ryvdoll redefines, through a sensitive reappropriation, our relationship with objects. Miniature reproduction, in the form of models or paper dolls, even without evoking any sense of nostalgia, eases the chaos and vertigo our minds are prey to. For ownership clutters the mind, as objects, through their history, their symbolism—significant or not—and the physical space they occupy, clutter our brains. Very quickly, these objects, too numerous and cumbersome, cause the shelf to wobble, and the mind becomes unable to represent them. This is the case with clothing, consumed without moderation, which, despite all the value we place on it, can provoke more anxiety than enthusiasm. Ryvdoll, with its miniature format, encompassing in a single view a whole that is no longer manageable or even visualizable by the mind, brings a comfort that a doll's wardrobe would struggle to imitate, as even the small shirt on its hanger would blend into the formless mass of the closet.

Ryvdoll offers a hybrid experience between the virtuality of video games and social media and the purchase of clothing online. While its close tracking of trends and continuous renewal bring it closer to social media, the feeling of achieving satiety distances it. One owns the idea of the piece of clothing or accessory, but in a "real and tangible" form, thus satisfying a desire. It is about owning a physical object that one places on a doll and then on a magnetic wardrobe, without necessarily owning the original model. Ryvdoll thus proposes to reinvent our way of consuming without promoting a hatred of consumption that commands a radical change far from being within everyone's reach. Ryvdoll offers the possibility of closing the cycle of "desire for the object - satisfaction of the desire through consumption," while responding to a need as tangible as the original "life-size" version. Far from disparaging our questionable but deeply ingrained consumption habits, it is about tolerating them and reducing their impact, both on an individual, societal, and environmental level. Just as we readily admit that social media is toxic and childish, that does not stop us from spending time on it.

So where does this strict compartmentalization of activities intended for adults and this disdainful view of those intended for children, the age of development, curiosity, and blossoming, come from? Are we not obeying a mere labeling more than a personal inclination? Shouldn't we question the doxa of a society that otherwise tolerates the morbid vegetation in front of mobile phones?

Like Art, Ryvdoll aims to address everyone. Most of us go to exhibitions or museums with the humility of a learner. For the majority of us, our knowledge is superficial, forming a baggage barely heavier than that of a child, with the only difference being that learning and absorbing information is their daily bread. Adults and children are therefore equals when it comes to observing Art. Why not transfer this equality scheme to certain concepts labeled as childish, such as toys; if by "toy," we mean an object that one manipulates for their own amusement.

Manual activity allows us to have a different appreciation of time and space. In contrast, the simulacrum of rest that we believe we grant our mind by passively resorting to our phone results in a form of renunciation and devaluation of time. The elemental return to contact with a physical object regenerates the mind and soothes anxiety by suspending overexposure to constant social interactions and comparisons. It is within this bubble of concentration and creativity that mental well-being flourishes.