Solar plexus pressure belt : Solar plexus : late-capitalism and global mental health

Solar Plexus Pressure Belt™ was inspired by Helgason’s own experiences as a creative practitioner suffering from anxiety and panic attacks in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. A decade later, ‘crisis’ has been normalized where unpaid- and underpaid labor and flexible working hours is now integral to the functioning of the economy and its inherent logic. These structural changes are directly impacting the laborer’s body and neural system. The design of the belt simulates a finger pressing into the solar plexus area, a motion and coping mechanism Helgason discovered would reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, leading him to further investigate the underlying neurological processes. Acknowledging his own entanglement within late capitalism, Helgason proposes a new product, the Solar Plexus Pressure Belt™, designed to temporarily reduce discomfort until an economic system is found that provides financial security to all inhabitants.
'Solar Plexus: Anxiety, Late-capitalism and Global Mental Health' Written for the Solar Plexus Pressure Belt project conceived by artist Saemundur Thor Helgason with Félag Borgara/Fellowship of Citizens, an interest group founded in October 2017 with the aim of lobbying for Basic Income.