Vi's Second Line
Lately I’ve been sort of preoccupied with grief and mourning. One of my closest friends died in a car accident last February, and I find myself battling waves of grief at the oddest moments– walking through Washington Square Park, riding the subway, sitting at my desk at work, or trying to focus in class. Because these moments take place in spaces where I can’t actually give voice to grief, I’m forced to choke down the feeling. I am ok coping this way, but it’s interesting to me how physical the sensation of grief is– there is a tightening below my ribcage, my eyes water, my face flushes hot and red, even if only for a moment. Dealing with this stuff seems like too much to tackle for a pcomp final, but at the same time, it seems like the only thing worth tackling right now. So, here are some ideas of ways of using physical computing to address the visceral feelings of grief…
display evidence of how often i remember my friend while just going about my day
build an environment that reflects that evidence, allowing a sort of postponement of mourning until you have time to deal with it– preserving or canning in a way– just like storing summer fruit nourishes you through the winter, make the environment a way to actual deal with grief and move on
address the physical symptoms/changes that grief brings
do something with the fact that i have not deleted her number from my phone (and i suspect many of our friends haven’t)– maybe something where using that space in the phone can build some sort of altar (for lack of a better word) e.g. whenever someone calls or texts it illuminates some portion of the environment.
Links for stuff to think about..
Memorial Works (all of which are much more literal than I’d like for this situation)