Mario Audio Guide
Work 1: Mario, 2013
Digitally woven cotton | 71 x 52 inches
Process: I started with an image of the video game character “Mario”, stretched and mirrored it in Photoshop then had the digital image woven into a blanket and hung it on a wall.
Concept: Cultural icons and stories create memories that become emblematic of particular times in our lives. In this piece I chose a character from my childhood and made something new with it, expanding my ability to reinterpret my story, my history and my identity.
Activity
Personal Writing: Write a short paragraph answering the following questions:
- Other than Mario, what are 3 cultural or video game characters you remember fondly from your childhood?
- Choose one - What did this character mean to you and why did you find it appealing?
- What was going on in your life when you interacted with this character and how did it relate to that?
- How about now?
Drawing Exercise: Supplies: drawing / writing tools, paper
- Make a drawing of this character changing one thing about it like it’s physical characteristics, its color pattern, its environment, or what it is doing.
- Do another drawing the same way but change something else.
- For the last drawing, create a new character morphed from the previous 2 drawings and your personal writing, re-imagining the old and familiar into something new.
- Write a page describing this new character in detail.