In Memory Of - Presentation Day

So presentation day was...nerve-wracking to be frank. I wasn't sure if I felt if we were ready to present, and I wanted so badly to make sure that my last art class presentation was one to at least leave an impression.

Sean had to move his car suddenly leaving me to start to set up and move tables and chairs out and give the space towards our stands. He immediately got to work when we came back though. We set up the temple first as we had decided it was to be our centerpiece and arranged the other stands in the places we thought best. As for the mausoleum piece, I decided to stick it on the door to maybe attract some attention for others to come and see.

By no means was our presentation the most popular, but we did have a bunch of people come in both classmate and student. I was extremely nervous as to people's views of the show, but I was thoroughly happy when I received a lot of positive feedback on the exhibit. I even got interviewed by a journalism major on my thoughts and struggles on the stand.

People said there was a quiet but powerful feeling to the stands. It felt quaint yet chilling and sad as well. One person even stated that the miscarriage felt creepy and sad as to the lack of the twins in the stand. They could see the lives of each person through the Life Gems, and it was the Life Gems themselves that drew them in. This made me extremely happy as the feeling I wanted and the message it spread didn't overlook any person who came in to see it. What made me even more happy was that people weren't looking from a distance but coming close and crouching down to see the details in every stand. There were a few people who even took pictures.

I do have a few things I would have done differently in a gallery setting. I would have had it in a smaller room with a darker floor in order for the Life Gems to shine a bit brighter than they already did. I also wish the mausoleum piece had been finished and the bullets had been there for the drive by shooting. Tyjuan's stand felt like a full life rather than one cut short without those bullet casings around the bag.

This project, for me, was meant to represent everyone and breathe some memory for strangers who died full or short in life. It was supposed to be chilling and sad; it was meant to show that so many people die every day by multiple means. Still, it doesn't mean that everyone gets a sad ending. That's what my full lives were meant to show. Furthermore, the time capsules, my favorite stand of the eight, was meant to show the hope we all have in living a good life and being remembered even if we pass on.

I hope that, to those strangers and those familiar we paid homage to in our gallery, they are smiling at this.