One-Meter Chain Reaction:
Exploring Distance, Imitation, and Connection
The One-Meter Chain Reaction is a participatory urban experiment by Scrapheap Collective, exploring the invisible threads between people through movement. Participants keep a one-meter distance from one another, sequentially imitating the action of the person before them.
The one-meter distance between people may seem simple, yet it is full of metaphor in our lives.
In modern society, it represents both a “safe distance” and a sense of estrangement. After the pandemic, one meter has even become a bodily boundary—reminding us of the fragility and gaps between people.
Philosophically, one meter is a space of tension between the self and the other. We can never fully enter another person’s body or consciousness; we can only perceive, imitate, and transmit within this limited distance.
Imitation here is not mere copying, but a response. When an action is imitated, it retains its original intent while shifting in transmission. This “deviation” is the essence of human communication: we can never fully understand others, yet through constant imitation and misunderstanding, new meaning is created.
The game One-Meter Chain Reaction reveals the absurdity and beauty of this existence:
Everyone waits for a “response” from the person before them, yet also brings their own body and choices into the chain.
This “one meter” is not a distance, but a slit of possibility.
In this chain, we see not just the transmission of actions, but how humans create new relationships and resonance through imitation and misinterpretation.
As philosopher Baudrillard said, the modern world is one of “simulacra”—we live in copies and representations. Yet in One-Meter Chain Reaction, repetition is not false; each action is both a copy and a creation.
Thus, the one-meter distance is both separation and connection.
It reminds us that there is always an invisible gap between people, and art can transform this gap into a space for interaction.
In 2025, we have conducted four iterations of One-Meter Chain Reaction in London:
Granary Square – exploring theatrical responses in an open plaza
Hyde Park – discovering subtle interplay between bodies and nature
Huang Contemporary (Feminist Exhibition) – finding intimacy and quiet connections in an exhibition setting
Barbican Centre – experiencing how architecture and site shape the flow, rhythm, and collective movement
Across these sites, the experiment demonstrates that one meter is never just distance—it is a space for interaction, improvisation, and shared creativity. Through imitation, misalignment, and collective movement, participants reveal the social habits, instincts, and emergent patterns that shape human connection in urban life.
One-Meter Chain Reaction will return in 2026 on an even larger scale—stay tuned!
— Scrapheap Collective/Dong
09/01/2025
09/01/2025