Ellie Li

Pause Button Café

I have always been fascinated by how space influences our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. In cafés, I observed a paradox of privacy within public spaces, where one feels both seen and anonymous. This experience inspired my exploration of the fluidity of self and hybrid identity, challenging Cartesian notions of singular identity based on the rational mind. Using Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of the Third Space as a framework, my thesis examines identity as fluid and continually reshaped through interactions and space. I am creating an immersive interactive exhibition that resembles a café—a metaphor and a tangible context for the negotiation of identity. I use projections, interactive media, and objects to invite audiences to engage with the space and reflect on the multiplicity of identity. This project seeks to guide audiences toward seeing everyday spaces as liminal and fluid, encouraging them to notice the subtleties of transitional moments and inspiring new insights and identities.

Thesis Paper

 2024