In the basement of Drew House dormitory, Taylor Thomas ’17 has transformed a small, windowless room into the embodiment of memory. Titled “Puzzle Pieces: A Memoryscape of Personal and Collective Identity,” the immersive art installation is part of her senior honors thesis in film and media studies.
“I’ve been filming my family for eight years, and this is my opportunity to turn the footage into something,” Thomas says. “I’ve created a room about family memory and the ways in which this ephemeral aspect of our identities can be physically reproduced in a tactile, immersive environment.” The installation includes three videos and two sculptures inspired by Thomas’s family.
Upon entering, the viewer sees two videos—10 Helens Way and 1,043—projected onto cloud-shaped sculptures that hang from the ceiling. “I created sculptures that embody what I think a memory is,” Thomas says, “and made them into objects you can engage with.” The sculptures, which took Thomas a month to build, are made out of chicken wire, paper towels, plastic and white sheets.
The back of the space is set up to look like a living room. Two chairs, each with side tables, lamps and family photos, face a wall where a third video—5412 Ellis—is projected. “The general idea,” Thomas says, “is that you’re going home as you move through the space.”