The original idea was to put a bed in the middle of Heimbold. It was supposed to be a comfy and inviting bed to give people space if they needed to sleep. However, it was difficult to find a frame, mattress, and other bedroom furniture to make the installation. To amend this issue we decided to create a bed in Blender, a 3D modeling software. It was an entire scene including a lamp with light, the bed, and a photo frame of Jenny Holzer’s This is no Fantasy. We chose This is no Fantasy since sleep is hard to come by due to all the work students do to contribute to our society. THE HEGEMONY!!!! It’s not even a real bed anymore – it became a projection rather than a real bed. It’s a fantasy bed.
We decided to project the bed on a sheet but the sheet was too big for the size of the projection. It was pointed out that we should try using a pillowcase to stick with the bed theme. The pillowcase perfectly fit the size of the projection which kept it boxed in underneath the staircase. We decided to use a small, baby-sized projector to keep the space boxed in. The space became attainable because it’s something you can see but not touch – like sleep for college students. We put a rug under the pillowcase. In the projection, we used the texture of the rug as the floor and set up the rug to touch it. And we filled the small space under the stairs with prints of the texture. We also decided to take this multimedia idea further and bought jumbo cotton balls and created our own lampshade.
If we would have had more time and it was not taken down we would have made the space more “roomy” by putting books, socks, and slippers! Another idea would be to put a little light inside the lampshade. It was hard to remember to turn off the projector, the installation was really like taking care of a pet ;)
It was a wonderful experience to install and take care of a space hijack! It was also a collaborative project where the duties were split between two people, and creative ideas were shared and discussed, it was such a beautiful experience. The jumbo cotton balls were collectively our favorite part, it provided a feeling of comfort and coziness!
