It has been well established that one’s childhood dwelling has a significant role to play in what kind of adult they become. Whatever its physical form, “home” is where love is demonstrated, important family conversations occur, and self-reflection is practiced. The purpose of this installation will be to consciously remove the notion of the actual physical dwelling from the concept of “home” and instead encourage participants to recall meaningful conversations that took place in their own childhood homes.

 

The installation will consist of a simple structure constructed of plywood resting on the ground -- four standard sheets attached at right angles forming four “rooms” of two walls each at right angles. The rooms will be labeled “Bedroom,” “Kitchen,” “Bathroom,” and “Living Room.” The wall surfaces will be painted with simple, flat colors, and permanent markers and paint/paintbrushes will be provided to visitors. A digital tape recorder will also be available.

 

Once constructed, I plan to invite passers-by to think of a memory – happy or sad – of something that took place in the dwelling in which they were raised, and share it by either writing out the memory on one of the “walls,” or making a drawing/painting of the memory, or sharing the memory verbally on the digital tape recorder.