Project Team: Mariel Fink, Alex Camponeschi
Site: Peabody Essex Museum – Salem, MA
Collaborators: Amy Youngs

Project Proposal

The concept of this installation is spatial, visual, and audial amplification. Mirrors are meant to reflect opposite walls and the inhabitants within the walls. The mirrors also visually extend the box and increase the imagery inside. Structures in the space serve as an amplification tool that projects the sound of the cricket chirp. The structures are lined with lights to project larger shadows of the crickets that would otherwise go unseen.

Bamboo scaffolding provides a sense of culture within the box. In the States, we view bugs as a pest. However, Chinese culture has a huge industry based on crickets.  Bamboo cages were traditionally used to house crickets so people could carry them around and hear their songs at all time.  The ends of the tape tubes are also based on the shape of the traditional bamboo gourd, with funnel-shaped ends to amplify the sound. This project highlights that industry and value of crickets, providing them with a home of “cricket luxury”.

Final Model

Perspectives

Studies

Material Studies