[ Installation ]
Garden
The proposal is a departure on the myth of Pandora's Box. It is an installation of a large box- a building- an institution. The structure is simple and anonymous, reflecting the institutions that exist in society. Institutions, such as hospitals and schools, were in actuality established as a means of relating to and combating the world's afflictions. One of their most important goals is instilling and maintaining hope in people. In this way, our constructed box is the physical representation of the hope that lay at the bottom of Pandora's box. However, in many societies and certainly in the society that we live in, hope is subjective for each individual, each segment and each community. In respect to this, our project aims to reflect this subjectivity through an interactive process with the audience.
Pandora, A Greek mythological princess, was given a gift, a mysterious box, by gods who were jealous of her beauty. She was told she must never open the box. One day compelled by her curiosity and temptation, Pandora opened the box to look in, and by doing so let loose all the great afflictions of the world- disease, malaise, madness, ignorance and evil. The afflictions spread throughout the world. Pandora quickly closed the lid , but alas, all the contents of the box escaped except for the one at the bottom- the antidote to all that had escaped-HOPE.