installation concept and build

“Paper House” is an installation based on separate experiences, that are reimagined as one shared ‘home’. The physical build will bring together materials of contrasting properties: harsh steel and fragile paper, with a media projection. Using transparent overlaid videos, the walls of the ‘house’ will immersive a single viewer in the shared memories of submission authors.

There is a kind of guilt which sticks to my uneasiness with a frustratingly firm grip. I found it first when looking into climate migration, realising how far most impacts and affects were from my day-to-day routine. I could fight for the sustainable future I believed in, but if tomorrow I needed my energy elsewhere then I could take a day off without repercussion.

Childhood is another clear space from which this sticky guilt manifests from for me. My early years were filled with excitement, surrounded by a family who would support everything and anything I showed a true interest in. I had network who cared deeply for me, and a balanced home with creative options all over the place. Everything there was set to help me have a good start in life, and to aid me in finding my own route into adulthood.

More often than not, when I approach the topic of ‘youth’, ‘home’ or ‘family’ with others, I am met with a kind of sadness that triggers this guilt. A large part of this comes from my difficulty in accepting that our goals typically remain collective: we aim for a family, we work for a house, we fight to build a home.

The confrontation comes from the privilege of my childhood, but also from the knowledge that I will never truly be able to understand, no matter how much energy I put into empathising, the impacts these young moments have on our behaviour as adults.

To start this project, I asked for anonymous submissions about the topics I mention above. Home, family and memory were key elements I wanted to keep the focus on.

The entries were a true mixed collection, from moments so positive they seemed dream-like to deep trauma which the authors often note left lasting impacts with them. Throughout this collection process, I worked on visuals and imagery to support the submissions using my own memories of childhood and writings from my concept stage of the project.

The physical piece for this installation is based on a child-like drawing of a house. It’s a universally recognised shape, easily scribbled out in a few simple lines. Scale was determined based on the average visitor height, with the internal space set for individual audience members to enter .

25 and 20mm hollow steel makes up the lengths, while small welded connectors will hold the pieces securely to form the frame. The use of connecting pieces - rather than simply welding the sections as a whole - mean it will be both collapsable and reusable.