Approx. 15’x20’
Projected Prose on Smoke from Fog Machines, 2015
To/Through explores the relationship between visual and written storytelling, memory, and history via letterforms, words, and phrases projected onto smoke. Words and phrases only become readable as light catches the smoke—a reference to the ephemeral nature of recollection and memories.
This was the intro video for Folk Nite:WunderKammer. Folk Nite is a community arts event in the suburbs of Chicago where accessibility to the arts is minimal and finding creative spaces to participate is quite difficult. Events are themed and include community-generated artwork and short-set performances.
Video was announced a Judge’s Choice for the 2014 Chicago Design Archives.
The introduction video was projected on an entire wall to signal to attendees that the event was starting. The video began playing while guests were mingling in the main event space. The sounds are comforting, evoking the memory of a lullaby. Type is manipulated in water similarly to how a scientist would mix chemicals in a beaker, referencing the scientific and exploratory notions of historic WunderKammen without literally visually presenting them.
Other event materials, such as the poster, wayfinding, and event set-lists were created from the same process as the video.
Attendees were encouraged to bring an item to contribute to a growing WunderKammer installation.
Approx. 8’x12’ Projected Stories on Sheer Sheets, 2013
On February 14, 2008 at Northern Illinois University, a former student opened gunfire on a lecture hall, killing five, injuring over thirty, and rocking an entire community. As a student on campus that day, I have my story, as do others. Yet, our stories are not usually aggregated, shared, or combined; through sharing our memories, we can process them individually. Collaborative storytelling allows us to put these stories together, forming an overall shape, without losing the texture of each individual narrative.
The properties of projected light on sheer screens evoke a spirit of solemnity and catharsis—a safe place to face a difficult subject. This collective begins to take a readable form, creating not only a public record, but a pulpit—shining light on greater issues of gun violence through the lens of human experience.
