Jolene Chen
Memories of the Entire Universe in Limited Space
Class of: 2024
Major: Communication Design BFA
Medium: Multimedia - digital and magazine cut-outs, collages
Faculty: Ruth Liberman (Studio) and Emily Raabe (Seminar)
Prompt: The Bridge project focuses on the creation of meaning. Focusing on two central aspects of Visual Culture: semiotics (how signs are being understood) and observation (noticing and paying attention), students are urged to experiment and play with found images as well as found text. Without a preconceived story, students develop a series of collages, allowing the narrative to evolve through idiosyncrasies and chance-encounters. The materials are physical cut-outs and text fragments from Seminar.
I made the panels without a theme or plot in mind, keeping only the collages that looked (superficially) the best. Focusing on the backgrounds first, which were an image of a painting of a forest at night and a prairie, I compiled images that fit the blue of the night as well as ones that fit the dreamy grass fields. I later settled on creating a theme of “night” and “day” and a story of an alternate universe that fit the overall surreal style of the collages. Poems for panels 3, 4, 5, and 6 were changed after a peer-review session to provide more clarity for the overall theme. After that, a plot was developed. The final story was about a girl meeting a boy that brought about the downfall of his home planet, and then figuring out ways to cope with this painful knowledge.