THE WAITING ROOM
Data Visualization on Gun Violence in America
Installation at Boston University 808 Gallery in May 2018
We face numbers and data on a daily basis. How much of it actually leaves an impact on us? Data is powerful, but it’s more powerful when it’s humanized and experiential.
The Waiting Room is an exploration of unique ways to display data points on gun violence in America.
Why gun violence? The high number of gun-related tragedies have proved that this is an on-going problem in our country that needs to be tackled. The worst part is that children are affected by it.
For my thesis, I decided to appropriate kids toys as a form of data visualization. I discovered a lot of visual similarities between classic wooden toys and traditional data graphs. By merging the two forms, I hope to give new meanings to these data points and leave an impact on my audience.
(Left) A "memorial floor" that shares the stories of children victims of gun violence
(Right) Using kids furnitures to demonstrate how 1 in 4 mass-shooting deaths is a child
(Toy 1) Comparing Firearm Homicide Rate with Other Developed Countries (Per 1 Million People)
(Toy 2) Comparing Gun Ownership with Other Developed Countries (Guns Per 100 Inhabitants)
(Toy 3) Number of Children Shot Between 2014-2017
(Toy 4) Motor Vehicle vs Firearm Deaths (2004-2014)
(Toy 5) Stack of Facts on the Negative Impact of Gun Violence on American Children
(Toy 6): First 100 Days of Gun Violence in the U.S. (2014-2018)
(Toy 7) Firearm Deaths Outnumbered Deaths by Aids, Drugs, War and Terrorism
