In our increasingly screen-based society, we have become more comfortable sharing details from our lives in digital spaces even as we feel more isolated and overwhelmed by negative emotions in the “real world.” I wondered how I might combine these two dimensions temporarily, creating a space in which people could share their problems online and receive in-person encouragement.
To create this temporary reality, I asked my social media followers if they would be willing to tell me about a problem or “burden” they were carrying. I printed all of the responses I was cleared to share on tote bags and bandanas as well as on tabloid-sized posters. Burdens printed on totes represented “public” issues that others were able to see, while problems printed on bandanas represented “private” burdens, or issues that respondents were struggling with behind closed doors.
I combined all of these elements into an installation, asking visitors to take one piece of it with them when they left. The act of physically carrying another person’s problem was meant to symbolize the meaningfulness of community care, and propose that vulnerability in online spaces can potentially be translated into tangible support.