This is what we are made of (2015)
Change is in our human nature. We all experience numerous events in the course of our lives that have a huge impact on our personality, beliefs and ways of thinking. Such events build our character and make us the unique individuals we are today. In my project "This is what we are made of" I am exploring the notion of change and transformation in human beings throughout life, focusing on myself as a subject.
I wanted to visualize the change I have undergone through the course of my life so far. I aimed to focus both on the major life shifts like transitioning from childhood to adulthood, overcoming difficult times and depressive periods, but also on the small, subtler changes that govern our day to day life.
In order to materialize this transformation, I created handmade paper using the ripped out pages of a diary and printed photographs from various events of my life. The diary I filled with my most memorable recollections, and the pictures I selected from my digital archive dating back to 2006. I shredded the diary and photographs so that I can use them as a building material for the paper in the same way they were a building block for my personality and self-identity.
In the title "This is what we are made of" the word WE on the one hand refers to myself and the paper, on the other hand it is a reference to people in general because we are all made of and moulded by our experiences.
My aim with this project is to provoke people to think about what made them the individual they are now. By showing the materialization of my transformation I want them to consider how they have changed through life and appreciate the person they have become.
I wanted to visualize the change I have undergone through the course of my life so far. I aimed to focus both on the major life shifts like transitioning from childhood to adulthood, overcoming difficult times and depressive periods, but also on the small, subtler changes that govern our day to day life.
In order to materialize this transformation, I created handmade paper using the ripped out pages of a diary and printed photographs from various events of my life. The diary I filled with my most memorable recollections, and the pictures I selected from my digital archive dating back to 2006. I shredded the diary and photographs so that I can use them as a building material for the paper in the same way they were a building block for my personality and self-identity.
In the title "This is what we are made of" the word WE on the one hand refers to myself and the paper, on the other hand it is a reference to people in general because we are all made of and moulded by our experiences.
My aim with this project is to provoke people to think about what made them the individual they are now. By showing the materialization of my transformation I want them to consider how they have changed through life and appreciate the person they have become.