After reading the feedback on Tuesday, I decided to continue developing Idea #2 because it feels more personal and emotionally grounded than my other concepts. Since this installation connects to my experience with anxiety and having a pacemaker, I think it has the strongest potential to create a meaningful atmosphere rather than just an abstract visual space. After talking through ideas with Ashley today, I refined the concept into two related installation possibilities.
The first idea is transforming the entire room into the inside of a heart. The walls would be covered in clear tarp or skin toned fabric with veins painted across them so the space feels organic and immersive. Some of the veins may include visible wires to reference my pacemaker and the mechanical support connected to the body. The lighting would saturate the room in red (possibly with subtle blue tones), and the sound design would include an irregular heartbeat to reinforce the emotional tension and physical awareness of the body.
The second idea builds on this environment but adds a physical focal point. In the center of the room would be a small podium holding a felt heart. Wires would extend from the heart outward into the vein-covered walls, visually connecting the central object to the surrounding “body.” This option emphasizes the relationship between the organic and the artificial, and it makes the pacemaker reference more literal. The irregular heartbeat sound would continue to shape the emotional atmosphere.
Based on the feedback about restraint, I am starting to think more about limiting the elements to focus on what actually drives the emotional experience. The central emotional mechanism is the feeling of internal awareness, being inside the body while also being aware that something is slightly off or unstable. More specifically, the piece explores the tension between loss of control and stabilization, represented by the contrast between a natural irregular heartbeat and the presence of a pacemaker helping regulate it. The irregular heartbeat and saturated lighting would physically affect how the viewer experiences the space, encouraging them to slow down and become conscious of their own body.
Over time, the experience could shift through subtle changes in sound or lighting intensity, moving from calm to more irregular patterns to reflect anxiety building.
Right now, I am leaning toward combining painted vein walls and sound as the main elements, with the central heart object as a possible addition if it strengthens the focus rather than overcrowding the space.
Maddie,
This is a strong refinement. You’ve moved from “immersive mood” into a clearly defined emotional mechanism — internal awareness and the tension between instability and regulation. That’s the right shift.
The heart-as-room concept works because it is embodied, not symbolic. The key now is restraint and clarity.
A few things to consider:
1. The Room as Body
If you transform the entire room into the inside of a heart, commit to that fully. The veins should not read decorative. They should feel structural — almost architectural. Think about scale and placement carefully so the viewer feels inside something, not just surrounded by painted lines.
2. Wires and Pacemaker Reference
The visible wires are conceptually strong, but be careful they don’t become illustrative. They should feel integrated, not attached. Subtlety will make the mechanical/organic tension more powerful.
3. Central Heart Object
Right now, the room-as-heart may be enough. The felt heart on a podium risks becoming literal or pulling attention away from the immersive experience. Ask yourself: does the space need a focal object, or does that reduce the viewer’s bodily awareness?
You may find that removing the central object strengthens the work.
4. Sound + Light
The irregular heartbeat is doing the conceptual work. Keep it restrained. Avoid dramatic volume shifts. Subtle irregularity will be more unsettling than obvious spikes.
With lighting, saturation is fine — but test how much red becomes overwhelming rather than immersive.
5. Shifts Over Time
Subtle changes are stronger than theatrical transitions. Anxiety builds gradually. Let the sound and light reflect that.
The strongest sentence in your post is this:
The piece explores the tension between loss of control and stabilization.
Stay with that. Every decision should support that tension.
Right now, I would encourage you to simplify:
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Painted/veined walls
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Subtle red lighting
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Irregular heartbeat
Add the central heart only if the space feels incomplete without it.
You’re very close to something focused and embodied. Keep editing. Proud of you!!
Idea #1 - Emotional Response Room
For my first idea, I designed an Emotional Response Room based on my reaction to the Epstein files and the public response surrounding them. After reading some of the released emails and documents, I felt a strong sense of anger, disgust, and frustration. It also feels like the topic has been pushed aside or emotionally numbed over time. I want this installation to explore that emotional cycle… how outrage can slowly turn into overwhelm and then into numbness.
I was heavily inspired by the installation work of Olafur Eliasson and James Turrell, especially their use of light and atmosphere to shape how a viewer physically experiences space.
The room would use fog and strong lighting to create a slightly claustrophobic environment. The lighting sequence would move from red (anger, chaos, exposure) into blue (sadness, emotional fatigue, numbness), followed by a blackout, and then repeated. This looping structure represents how public attention and emotional response often cycle and fade.
I am also considering projecting or painting short phrases or words into the space using opposite-color lighting. For example:
- During red lighting: phrases like “pending,” “under review,” “no comment,” and “insufficient evidence.”
- During blue lighting: phrases like “remember,” “pay attention,” and “this still matters.”
Sound and projections may also be layered to increase the sense of emotional overwhelming.
Idea #2 - Internal Anxiety / Heart Space
For my second idea, I wanted to explore something more personal by focusing on my own experiences with having a heart condition. Unlike a temporary illness, it is something that is always present, even when it is not visible. This installation would explore the constant background feeling of anxiety and physical awareness that comes with that. This idea is very similar to Project 1, “Small World.”
I was inspired by the sculptural material work of Eva Hesse and again by the atmospheric lighting environments of Olafur Eliasson. I am interested in combining soft materials such as yarn or string with fog and lighting to create a chaotic and slightly claustrophobic environment.
The yarn would hang throughout the space, creating layered visual tension and forcing the audience to physically navigate through it. A heartbeat sound would play continuously, possibly shifting tempo to reflect anxiety or irregular rhythm. Lighting would pulse subtly with the sound to reinforce the connection between the body and the environment.
This piece would focus on the idea that internal experiences, especially medical or emotional ones, can be invisible but still deeply present.
Idea #3 - Fabric Reflection Room
For my third idea, I am considering a quieter and more reflective installation space that still connects to emotional and bodily awareness. I was inspired by the immersive fabric environments created by Ann Hamilton along with the lighting and texture-based environments of Olafur Eliasson.
This installation would use hanging red fabric to surround the viewer and create a soft, enclosed environment. A beanbag chair placed in the center would encourage the viewer to sit and physically settle into the space, making the experience slower and more personal.
Fog, soft lighting, and sound would be used to create an immersive atmosphere. Depending on the final direction, the room could function either as:
- a reflective emotional space
- a symbolic internal body space connected again to heart awareness
Sound could include low ambient tones or a subtle heartbeat to reinforce the sense of presence and connection to the body.
































