Sarah Ross has created Archisuits that are a hilarious look at soft bodies in hard spaces - all the ways the built environment is a mismatch for human needs.

In 2005, artist Sarah Ross designed four absurdly bulging leisure suits to illuminate how public infrastructure is not built for bodies.

Artist Sarah Ross designed "Archisuits" to allow people to relax in urban spaces that aren't designed for relaxation. Reminds me of

All images © Sarah Ross, shared with permission # Designed for Leisure, Sarah Ross’ ‘Archisuits’ Question the Inhospitable Environments of American Cities November 2, 2022 ArtDesignSocial Issues Grace Ebert * Share * Pin * Email __Bookmark Among American cities, Los Angeles has a reputation for being particularly car-centric, and it lacks the infrastructure for walkability or a robust public transit system. This choice of design is inherently political, as it makes commutes and travel across neighborhoods more inaccessible for people who don’t drive. There’s also the fact that public spaces available to pedestrians generally aren’t constructed with comfort in mind, an issue Chicago-based artist Sarah Ross sought to remedy back in 2005 with the satirical _Archisuits_. Absurdly shaped, Ross’s four leisurewear pieces bulge with supports that perfectly fit into the negative space of benches, fences, and building facades. The designs draw a contrast between the soft, bendable wearables and the cold, rigid architecture, which the artist describes as “an arm of the law, a form that uses the built environment to police and control raced, classed, and gendered bodies.” Nearly twenty years later, the project retains its original relevance and has gained new urgency as the climate crisis requires mass reduction in car use and an overhaul in how we collectively conceive of public areas. Ross shares with Colossal: > The same issues are happening where people are criminalized for being poor, black, brown, or disabled in public space. In many places around the globe, there is a turn to the right a monopoly of power is concentrated into the hands of the very few. We continue to live in siloed, segregated worlds. Find more of the artist’s projects that consider how politics inform spaces on her site. **Do stories and artists like this matter to you?** Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing. * Hide advertising * Save your favorite articles * Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop * Receive members-only newsletter * Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms ### Join us today! $7/month $75/year Explore membership options Previous article Next article