Art Installation / Mixed Media
Client - DesignTo Art Festival
Create an art installation that invites viewers into a space that tells a compelling story through multiple mediums, communicating the experience of growing up with African parents and the cultural disconnect and language barriers faced by younger generations.
The Challenge
During my internship at Cossette, I received feedback that I should expand my storytelling abilities to match my visual design capabilities.
I was advised that stronger narrative elements would help add context and connect people more deeply with my designs. This project was born from my pursuit of education to become a better storyteller.
The challenge was to create an installation that could stand out while drawing viewers into an intimate experience of cultural duality and generational gaps. I needed to effectively communicate complex themes of identity, language barriers, and cultural heritage through a multi-sensory experience that would resonate with diverse audiences.
The Process
This work required combining skills across multiple disciplines: motion design, DVD authoring, soldering and electrical connections for lighting, and physical set design. I began by collecting family artifacts and stories, recording conversations with my parents in both Yoruba and English.
For the physical space, I sourced materials that authentically represented my ancestral home in Ijebu, Nigeria, where I spent summers with my family. This included finding the right plastic woven mat, a chair that matched my memories, and carefully selecting family photographs to display.
The technical aspects were particularly challenging. I learned analog techniques for working with a vintage CRT TV, including DVD authoring and creating proper connections to display my content.
The Solution
Lost in Translation: A Family Tapestry explores the experience of growing up with African parents, focusing on the cultural disconnect and language barriers that arise in younger generations. The piece recreates a nostalgic space reminiscent of my ancestral home in Ijebu, Nigeria, where I spent summers with my family.
The installation invites viewers into a cyclical Yoruba storytelling experience. Key elements include a plastic woven mat, a worn-down chair, walls mimicking my home, and shelves adorned with family photographs. An old, barely functioning TV offers glimpses of my parents' lives.
Yoruba proverbs and stories appear as words animated with motion design on the CRT TV. The typography, paying homage to my father's work as a typesetter, appears with intentionally blurred and incomplete translations that fade and disappear. Simultaneously, a sing-song voice carries parallel stories in both Yoruba and English through the space.
Though these spoken narratives tell different stories but with the similar lessons, they sometimes overlap but never synchronize. These overlapping narratives create an intentional disconnect; viewers might recognize similar story patterns but fail to bridge the linguistic gap, mirroring the frustration of understanding the rhythm of one's heritage without grasping its full meaning.
The Impact
This project transformed my design practice by merging storytelling with multi-medium technical execution. Its selection for the 2025 DesignTO Youth Exhibition validated my narrative approach, while viewer feedback confirmed its emotional resonance across cultural backgrounds. Most importantly, the installation achieved its purpose: creating meaningful dialogue about cultural preservation, language, identity, and generational connection in our globalized world.