Holy smokes we did it!!!
This project was seriously a test of willpower, dedication, and brainpower, but it turned out SO well and I am beyond proud of what I created.
I wish I could count the number of hours I spent organizing my space, opening and filing sticker deliveries, and covering everything in white. I went to Target more times in the past week then I have in the past year and had to re-hang the sheets on the walls more time than I care to recount. All this to say, is that this was a project of love.
This project opened my understandings of immersive installations and started to solidify my love of these kinds of spaces. I love how every audience member had a slightly different experience depending on if they came alone or with others, at the beginning of the performance or the end, the music they heard.
Some of the audience members came in for just a few minutes, others probably could have stayed all night. They all made the experience that much more special for me.
I learned how to carefully interact with the nervous ones, gleefully pantomime with others, gathering awareness for the waders in the space and the divers.
I think one of the most striking pictures is looking down the hall away from my sticker room (at left). From the sensory overload that was most of the building, this area was a really nice sensory reset area. It is striking with the white walkway, glowing benches for rest, and sheets/ paper making shadows on the walls.
Signage was important for the overall understanding of the space and a discovery I had during my playtests. One of the questions I had during a playtest was "what is the point?" Hence my sign of "white deprivation to colorful hope." It let people know immediately what was happening in the world beyond.
Not only did the signage allow for understanding, but it also aided in the rules of the world. To the right you can see the "please knock" sign which everyone followed! The knock allowed for me inside to invite people in and introduce myself.
Outside the door was another sign that aided in the rules of the space. I had signs for removing shoes from the very beginning of entering my space, but had to place it several times just to make sure. Even then, I had a pair of grandparents choose to ignore the rule and I was unsure of how to proceed. Thankfully their shoes weren't that dirty and didn't scuff up the white of my space too much.
Consent was a big thing I needed to create in my room. I found through playtesting that I was breaking my own rules when I put stickers on people. I changed this to giving participants stickers and allowing them to choose where it went. Consent is key!
I have so many more thoughts that I will provide at another time. But for now, I need to clean up my space, take down all the stickers, and allow Sticker Haven to rest... Thank you for joining me on this journey <3
UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!
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