Depletion Loops
Jayna Choksi
Depletion Loops invites participants to confront burnout not as an isolated experience, but as a collective phenomenon that binds us together in unexpected ways. This interactive digital installation explores the three stages of burnout—stagnation, detachment, and exhaustion—through distinct, embodied experiences. Each engagement guides users through increasingly fractured digital environments that mirror shifting emotional states, tracking their journey in real-time. As the visuals and required actions evolve, personal exhaustion is transformed into a shared landscape where users navigate the paradox of feeling both trapped and connected. The experience shifts from engaging to disquieting, revealing how surrendering to burnout entangles us further in collective cycles of depletion and recovery.
An accompanying interactive webpage functions as a break timer, encouraging breaks, moments of pause and self-awareness amid the relentless cycle of productivity. A printed booklet offers a tangible reflection of each participant’s journey through the installation, exposing universal patterns that emerge across experiences. Through a coordinated combination of space, sound, and text, Depletion Loops invites you to explore how, in times of fatigue, we unknowingly push, pull, and support one another— revealing the invisible connective tissues of our shared exhaustion.