In China, mental disability is seen as something to be hidden away to preserve the family honor, leading to widespread ignorance about the conditions of children living with diseases such as autism. CLOVER, an NGO that assists autistic children, wanted to launch an initiative on Children's Day, June 1st, to drive awareness and appeal for volunteers.

Because our primary goal was to drive awareness, we sought to make a splash in the media by telling a hard-hitting and immersive story that could be spread to, hopefully, affect real change to improve the lives of those living with disabilities and their families.

We knew we needed to demonstrate that autism affects more than just the person suffering from the condition, so we created an exhibition of 'living sculptures' at Shanghai Expo Park featuring a family imprisoned in giant locks. By depicting a family both united and trapped in their isolation and helplessness, we sought to raise awareness to 'unlock' their world.

The installation received overwhelming coverage, both domestically and internationally, but most importantly, the government took notice, featuring it on their official websites and pledging to launch preferential treatment and training programs to assist these families, with a target of improving their lives within the next 3-5 years.

We created an exhibition of 'living sculptures' at Shanghai Expo Park featuring four adults and a child imprisoned in giant locks made of black knitting wool. The five locks were to symbolize the five members of a typical Chinese family in one household. By depicting a family both united and trapped in their isolation and helplessness, we sought to raise awareness to 'unlock' their world.

The installation was covered by 160 media groups, 80% of which were national, and generated 1.9 million comments and retweets on SNS, reaching over 60 million people. Most importantly, however, CLOVER recruited 16 volunteers and the government took notice, featuring it on their official websites and pledging to launch preferential treatment and training programs to assist these families, with a target of improving their lives within the next 3-5 years.