THE BEGINNING
We spent the entirety of our second half of this semester orchestrating a group project based around our experiences in and with mental health.
I had never done a group project of this magnitude up until this point.
There were several periods of deep discussion going into this project.
What we landed on was that we cared about mental health more than any other subject we deliberated doing a half-semester long class-wide group project on.
TAKING INITIATIVE / THE ZINE
Initially I did not feel that I was connecting to the ideas of making structures and animations. I did not feel my personal experience(s) with mental health were being reflected.
So I spoke briefly with my friends Sakura and Emma and we decided to propose a zine component to the project. We wanted to make a tangible collection of text and imagery that could supplement and elevate the project by offering more and more perspectives into the topic.
We formed a group with Emma, Sakura, Brittany, Jenny, Anastasia and I.
We then decided to make two zines, one containing just imagery the other text. They would take 2 different forms. The image zine was a more typical booklet we laid out in indesign. The text zine was done in a different format, taking a piece of 8 and a half by 11 paper and folding it down into a mini booklet that would house prompts. When the text zine was unfolded it could serve as a poster.
To curate the content for the imagery zine we did several rounds of collecting. First we all made at least 5 images, then we asked family and friends to make imagery, finally we held a collage party inviting people we know to all make imagery to contribute.
For the text, Emma, Sakura and I spearheaded the writing of the prompts. We centered them around the idea of creating a booklet of prompts and prose that could either take your mind off of negativity or anxiety, or lead you through the exhibition, offering supplementary to take-in the installation with them in mind.
Brittany and Jenny took over screen printing the covers of the image zines and then the poster side of the image zine. We then printed the text in the print lab.
The finished product was a moving display of how we can all call upon our community outside and within ourselves to create a meaningful conversation and articulation of our experiences.
THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT
The rest of the class made:
A structure
A chair and blanket with in the structure
A video to be projected onto the structure
An animated video to be viewed in Google Cardboards inside the structure
A performative knitting piece
REFLECTION
Over all even though I was having a difficult time with getting my footing in the beginning of the process as it was very intense in the way of discussion and decision making, I think I really built upon my team working skills. I learned how to effectively communicate and delegate tasks within a large group and I appreciated that insight greatly.
It has been a very difficult semester for me personally and a difficult time in my life it seems ironic and timely that this should be the largest project of this semester for me. Mental health is an incredibly dynamic and ever present thing. Being able to communicate about and make work about it freely and openly is incredibly powerful as well.