In thinking about the final installation and elaborating on my thesis, I want to give people an experience out of this world or the sensation of entering into a different dimension in space, unknown in their present experience of reality. I have been developing my black hole drawings and thinking about what it would be like if a person could enter a Black Hole, without being “spaghettified” (being physically stretched out thin), what that experience would be like. When I was young, I was given the The Great International Paper Airplane book (published in 1967), and I have had a lifelong interest in creating paper airplanes and in flight. I created three Starships based upon one of the winning models from the book, and I thought the participants initially entering the installation would throw one of the starships through a Black Hole model created at a portal before entering into an indoor space. They would proceed through the black hole made of a certain black material or media with a “Rings of Fire”-look, possibly a kinetic sculpture. Once the participants have entered, they would be amongst an installation of Baobab trees and other imaginative trees and forms. Amongst the trees, there is going to be moss and/or earth, or sand and leaves, and people would need to remove their shoes and socks to experience walking on the forest floor while experiencing these forms. I will further develop ambience with sound and light in subsequent semesters. For now, I am imagining Wendy Carlos’s Sonic Seasonings for music with the lighting being dim, with lights being used to lead people along a path to have an intentional full experience. I am still contemplating incorporating crystals, island forms and bodies of water into the installation, as seen in my drawings.

*Please note: I was not able to place the tree forms indoors for now due to the Pandemic; I did not have access to a space I could use in the meantime. I had to arrange the trees in the outdoor space next to my home so you could see the trees together thus far in their development.