Spaces

At this point in time, my living situation is pretty strange and the home environment I find myself in gives me a lot to think about. My house is currently undergoing some work, so for the past few months my family and I have been living in my Nonna’s flat. My Nonna passed away earlier this year in the apartment in the same bed that my parents are using for the time being. All of her belongings are still here and not much has been moved since the day she died, which means that every time we try to put something away we find more and more of her belongings.

There’s something about living here that’s as equally comforting as it is unnerving. By simply exploring her home we have discovered so many intimate things about my Nonna that we had no chance of learning about while she was alive. Some are upsetting, but for the most part it’s nice to know more about her.

Recently I’ve felt compelled to document as much of the flat as I can while we’re here. Every now and then relatives come over to pick things up or throw things away, and all that we have left of Nonna is slowly becoming less.

In addition to the strangeness of living in my Nonna’s flat, I’ve also found myself without a bedroom – or a bed, for that matter. With only two beds to accommodate four people, I made a temporary sanctuary for myself on the floor of my Nonna’s sewing room. I’ve slept on the floor before, but I’ve never put my whole life on the floor before. It’s a new experience that’s made me hyper aware of just how much our environment can affect us.

Above is a painting of my living situation. With almost no means of storage, I’m surrounded by my belongings – everything that was small enough to take with me. This room has pretty much become a reflection of myself. It’s chaotic but comfortable. From this image alone, I believe that people can learn a great deal about me.

By simply observing my own environment, I learned a lot about what sort of ideas I want to incorporate in my project. While I admire the vast and dynamic environments designed by Stalenhag, I’m more interested in exploring environments on a smaller scale. Domestic spaces in particular I think are worth exploring further. A person’s home environment can say so much about them, divulging intimate details that only a select few may be privy to. Sometimes homes can hold information that not even the occupier is aware of. If I’m committed to exploring narrative through environment, then domestic spaces are probably the best place to start.