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Mark

Failing Better


Exhibited at Typeforce 6



“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”

– Samuel Beckett


Failing Better is an interactive installation that celebrates the spirit of trying, failing and learning from failure in the creative process.

On the opening night of the show, viewers were invited to stamp anywhere on the seemingly blank wall using pre-made stamps. There was a build-up of stamped marks over three hours, after which masking tape that was on the wall prior was removed to reveal the word "BETTER". The piece is thus created from the accumulation of stamps, metaphorical marks of failure.




Failing Better expresses how we become better through the accumulation of failure and experience from our attempts at doing something. The visibility of the word "BETTER" is directly proportional to the number of marks made. The final piece is a visual manifestation of the idea that only when we are not afraid to fail more, can we learn to get better at failing and eventually be better.



The unpredictable nature of this piece—having no idea what it will look like until the end—also points to how sometimes the result of trying can be unexpected but also organic and maybe even beautiful.
Copyright 2022 Zhenqi Ong