For the final project, I wanted the memorial to be more fun and more spontaneous than most typical memorials. I felt like general memorials lacked the sense of humor, and this memorial was sort of a response to that.

Originally, the memorial was meant to be a more generalized bedroom instead of my own personal bedroom. It was actually suggested that I should recreate my own bedroom for others to destroy. It was a better idea for complete strangers to enter into my very personal space because it gave the viewer the opportunity to indirectly meet the artist.

Finding materials to destroy the model presented some challenges because I had to experiment with materials that would work in a small space. I would not have been able to bring the actual tools to destroy the model because the tools would destroy the foam base, and it would require me to rebuild the model for the final exhibition. Also, finding materials to vandalize the space also was challenging because I needed to use materials that were non-toxic and easy to clean.

I also faced the struggle of coming up with an appropriate title for this piece because I was unsure about what it meant to me. I knew that I wanted to create and destroy, but I could not find any meaning behind why I wanted to create and destroy in the first place.

What I found interesting was the difference in how people interacted with the piece in the exhibition. I remember Nancy carefully ripped open the miniature pillow, gently placed on top of the flipped bed, and sprinkled a little colored dust inside. Another person dumped an entire container full of blue colored dust and also suggested to me that he wanted to set it on fire at the end of the piece. In the end, it was me who ended up causing the most destruction to my own piece. I wanted to spill my lemonade into the display, but instead, Aria handed me the sparkling apple cider bottle, and I poured the remainder of the cider into the display. In addition to the cider, I grabbed a plastic knife and started stabbing the piece, trying to create scars into the chipboard furniture. It was a last addition to the performance piece: a great release of stress that the final project (and other final projects) have caused me.

“Before” side

“After” side