2014
Looking for a Needle in a Haystack
The expression “looking for a needle in a haystack” delights me, because it implies that you can invariably find what you are looking for, provided you invest yourself in the search. I materialized this concept by marketing real needles nestled in huge bales of hay. Despite the logistical challenges related to transportation and shipping, the project was a great success. I even sent a bale of hay to Canada. Of course, I guarantee the presence of the needle in every haystack, ensuring that you will inevitably find what you are looking for.
Neo Valen, in his characteristic style of systemic subversion, has designed an ingenious project that plays with the age-old idiom of “finding a needle in a haystack.” In this initiative, he subverts the idea of satisfaction, commonly linked to rare and elusive victories, by guaranteeing it.
He started out selling haystacks, but with a unique twist: every haystack sold contains a needle, guaranteed. Customers purchase these haystacks with the assured satisfaction of being able to find the proverbial needle. It’s a playful and thoughtful examination of how our society often craves guaranteed results and instant gratification.
By incorporating this element of certainty into an adage that means the exact opposite, Valen challenges our concepts of satisfaction and success. In essence, it invites us to think: is satisfaction always as satisfying when the result is guaranteed? Is the joy in the journey or in the destination?
As always, Valen‘s work leaves us with more questions than answers, forcing us to evaluate and rethink societal norms and our own i
