Blankets From Our Childhoods was a team project undertaken by 12 students. I led the development of the concept, assisted in preparing the installation, and acted as one of three photographers. Inspired by our realization that the class composed of international students, we decided to express our diversity in a manner that also honored our cultures.
Students draped their blankets from clotheslines that we hung in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning’s main office, Sibley Hall. Apartments flanking narrow neighborhood paths that crisscrossed with clotheslines drooping with the weight of drying laundry seemed a common feature in the cities of developing countries like India, Mexico, and China. Blankets also projected an intimacy that was reminiscent of childhood because their durability kept them functional for decades. Many students, including me, immigrated to North America at a young age, so these blankets were time capsules from our childhoods. Our display in our new Cornell home was a reminder of our past and a tribute to our heritage.
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