You’ve heard of tear gas, but how about a tear gun? And no, it’s not what riot police are packing. This weapon—if you can call it that—turns sorrow into ammo, literally. Conceived by Taiwan-born artist Yi Fei Chen during her time at the Design Academy Eindhoven, the Tear Gun is a poetic yet cutting-edge device that freezes your tears and then shoots them. Because what says “I’m not crying, you’re crying” like weaponized sadness?
The concept is as personal as it gets. Chen, raised in a culture where questioning authority is a no-go, faced an emotional whirlwind when adapting to the directness of Western education. After one particular moment when she wanted to speak up but couldn’t, her tears became a symbol of suppressed frustration. Rather than wiping them away, she decided to embrace them—by freezing them solid and turning them into projectiles.
This striking metaphor packs a punch. Literally. The Tear Gun is a minimalistic device that captures tears, flash-freezes them, and lets you fire them in what can only be described as the most passive-aggressive act of defiance ever. Next time someone makes you cry, just aim and launch a frozen shard of your anguish right back at them. It’s catharsis with a trigger.
The Tear Gun isn’t just a quirky art project—it’s a universal statement about vulnerability and empowerment. As designer Alessandro Ludovico puts it, Chen has crafted a device that transforms private pain into public resilience in a way that’s both technically brilliant and symbolically rich.
So, is the Tear Gun for sale? Sadly, no. For now, it remains a thought-provoking art piece. Meanwhile, be sure to follow this brilliant artist on her IG to keep abreast of her latest developments.
Images: Yi Fei Chen.
via asiaone.
