Emil Grip (Limbo Accra), Spatial Design

Alongside their partner Dominique Petit-Frère, Emil Grip makes up one half of Limbo Accra, a spatial design practice experimenting with the repair and transformation of unfinished building projects in West African cities and beyond.

APOSSIBLE™ is a non-profit bringing psychologists, technologists, artists and creatives together to explore how technology can better support creativity and human fulfillment. In this ongoing interview series we’re discovering what people value, what makes their lives fulfilling, and what kinds of relationships to technology they already cherish.

1. What is a ritual, practice, or routine in your life that is important for your psychological wellbeing and/or fulfillment? Why?

I don't have many specific rituals, but I start each day with the mindset that "anything could happen today". This approach keeps me grounded and open to new experiences and opportunities. It teaches me that fulfillment often comes from embracing life's unpredictability and staying curious and resilient.

2. What is a human-made creation that brings out the best in you? Why?

A chair. There's something profoundly simple and banal about it. The chair symbolizes a fundamental difference between humans and all other life forms: the pursuit and execution of comfort. It serves the basic purpose of providing a place to sit, for conversations, reflection of just for rest, given that the chair is comfortable of course. I also find it fascinating as it is a universal object you will find all over the world. For some reason, a chair reminds me of the importance of balance between activity and rest, helping me appreciate the value of taking time to pause and reflect.

3. When do you cherish the slow or hard way of doing something? Why?

There is something fulfilling about the act of ‘overcoming’ something, just like in storytelling or films. The cinematic part of a protagonist going through something, to come out on the other side. I think this is what draws me to seek challenges that are unnecessarily hard. I must admit that my mind in general is lazy, always seeking the smarter of the harder approach. It's a fight with my mind every time I work on a project, to keep pushing me out of the comfort zone, beyond what is already known. I often have to make obstructions for myself to get the push.

4. What is something you appreciate or long for from the past? Why?

I often wish to go back to my childhood and live through everything for the first time again. The feeling of sensing things through this lens, with those intuitive and often childish honest emotions, is a huge inspiration for me. There is something immediate about it, a presence that we are losing to the screens. I hope we can keep this type of romance alive in our societies as everyone is getting more and more digitized.