Hallway

Foamcore, paint, LED string lights, wood, plexiglass, window tint
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A miniature hallway may not seem like anything of importance, but to me it was crucial to bring this piece to life.

I experience hiraeth a lot, this kind of homesickness/nostalgia for places I’ve never been to or do not exist. They will pop into my head, almost like memories, but are actually combinations of real-life places from my past. Because of this, they feel very comforting and familiar but it can take some time to visualize all the components.

One of these places was a hallway, which featured McDonald’s quarry tiles and an oil painting of horses running. It also needed to have recessed lighting and gold-tinted windows. The closest example I found to this was a hallway from the VIP lounge in the Land Pavilion, (which I’ve never been in but vaguely remembered a picture - slide 5) so I used this as my primary example.

I landed on creating a model rather than a painting or some other form of media. I wanted to see the light cast down on the hallway, or look through the tinted windows at different angles, for it to feel like you could almost step in.

I tested many materials before creating the final, but ended with foam core for the walls, ceilings, and floor, plexiglass and tint for the windows, wood for the trim and framing, and LED lights for the lighting. I scored into the foamcore to create the tile texture, and inserted paper tubes before installing the LEDs for the recessed lights. I happened to come across an almost identical oil painting of horses running to what I imagined, so I printed it out and created a curved frame.

When it was complete, I was somewhat surprised at how well it all came together. It can be very hard to recreate these places I’ve never been, but this somehow hit the nail on the head. The hallway now resides on my bookshelf, never again to escape my mind.

-JA