STUDENT WORK

My idea was to make a “walk through” exhibit of 2020. I want the user to feel the emotions that 2020 brought, as they stroll through the events in chronological order. Using humor, shock, and emotion throughout.

The goal is to activate all of the users’ senses creating a fully immersive user experience and triggering emotion. People all over the world are left in shock, grief, anger, disbelief after living through 2020. We need a way to process and heal from it. I feel that an exhibit, if done right can help the healing process.

This event would take place in 2045 or later. 

The flow of an exhibit is very important. Certain things could set a tone or prepare the visitor for an experience. I will be taking you through the exhibit, scene by scene to give a complete overview. Walking into the exhibit you are greeted with a covid screening station. This station was placed in tight quarters to set the tone of uncomfortability, and anxiety that is shown throughout the exhibit. After each visitor is screened, the first thing that is seen is a covid tent with workers in hazmat suites. There are large covid cell replicas in the tent. Once reaching the next display, you are placed in a scene of empty shelves and a shopper in a hazmat suit hoarding 2020’s most precious commodity, toilet paper. One the adjacent wall, there are life sized shelves bare of necessities. These shelves support various informational signage a large timeline info-graphic.

Looking past the grocery scene there is smoke, when you take a closer look it is a burning police car. In front of the display there are screens that act as interactive kiosks. These kiosks can be used to access more information about any of the displays in the exhibit. Mannequins, dressed in store bought tactical gear are placed on the floor throughout the exhibit. These mannequins are meant to make the space feel crowded and uncomfortable.

After finding your way through the mannequins, you find a wall of TV screens. These screens are playing various news headlines from 2020. A number of these will have sound on, playing over each other to once again giving the real sense of chaos that 2020 was. Accompanying the display of protester artifacts is an informational sign and umbrellas protruding from the wall in the same way that protesters shielded themselves from rubber bullets and tear gas in the 2020 riots.