Sophie & Bean
Installation
8' x 8' x 10'
2020
Installation
8' x 8' x 10'
2020
When we think of children’s storybooks, we assume the book would contain all of the fantasy and magic, while reality remains dull and plain outside. Then, the only way to connect with a magical realm is to look within the book; what if this is reversed?
This storybook represents a reality where Sophie is a human girl playing in her room with her stuffed fox, Bean. Outside the book, depicted on the walls of the tent, is Sophie’s fantasy world. This is where she transforms into a princess exploring with Bean, her much-larger flying fox friend. Even though Sophie’s experiences with her best friend are conceived within her mind, it is through her emotional connection that she is able to construct a new reality—one that can be physical to her and incorporated into her daily routines. By switching how we typically see these two realms, I promote viewers to change their perspectives on how we perceive fantasy. It isn’t just something that lingers within the pages of a storybook, but a flourishing dimension that can collide with our own through imagination.
In the illustrations, I used color pencils in order to draw connections to the materials that children often use to make their own creations. Similarly, presenting these illustrations on the walls of the tent refers to children’s drawings scribbled on the walls of their homes. By inviting viewers into a child’s play tent, I encourage a moment of nostalgia and remembrance of the safe space into which we once crawled to imagine fearlessly, create unapologetically and witness magic as it unfolded before us.
Sophie & Bean invites viewers of all ages to revive and rekindle these wondrous times of being a child, remembering the priceless value of unconstrained imagination and creativity. Viewers are welcomed to flip through the storybook and watch as the ordinary becomes extraordinary. The everyday doesn’t have to be mundane at all; magic can be found in any corner of life, even in the quiet bedroom of a little girl.
This storybook represents a reality where Sophie is a human girl playing in her room with her stuffed fox, Bean. Outside the book, depicted on the walls of the tent, is Sophie’s fantasy world. This is where she transforms into a princess exploring with Bean, her much-larger flying fox friend. Even though Sophie’s experiences with her best friend are conceived within her mind, it is through her emotional connection that she is able to construct a new reality—one that can be physical to her and incorporated into her daily routines. By switching how we typically see these two realms, I promote viewers to change their perspectives on how we perceive fantasy. It isn’t just something that lingers within the pages of a storybook, but a flourishing dimension that can collide with our own through imagination.
In the illustrations, I used color pencils in order to draw connections to the materials that children often use to make their own creations. Similarly, presenting these illustrations on the walls of the tent refers to children’s drawings scribbled on the walls of their homes. By inviting viewers into a child’s play tent, I encourage a moment of nostalgia and remembrance of the safe space into which we once crawled to imagine fearlessly, create unapologetically and witness magic as it unfolded before us.
Sophie & Bean invites viewers of all ages to revive and rekindle these wondrous times of being a child, remembering the priceless value of unconstrained imagination and creativity. Viewers are welcomed to flip through the storybook and watch as the ordinary becomes extraordinary. The everyday doesn’t have to be mundane at all; magic can be found in any corner of life, even in the quiet bedroom of a little girl.
