AWAKE SOAP

MFA Project

The idea that the absence of a person can inspire someone to be more present in their own life is very striking to me.

Death is inevitable, there is nothing we can do about that but what we can control is what we do in this short life. Make the most of life. Since so many people need to be reminded not to take life for granted, including myself,  I decided to covey this message by using something as simple as an element from a daily routine to remind and enable others to live their life fuller, better and happier.

I chose soap to covey the idea that absence can inspire presence because it is a simple element from a daily routine. It's something we use daily to wake us up and to start a new day. It is also a staple that is often taken for granted. Don't you feel gross when you use the rest room and there isn't any soap? You pump the wall mounted dispenser and nothing comes out. You then realize how much you appreciate it when you have it.

After deciding on soap I then decided to use food as a metaphor for wasted life since, like us, food has a life span and is often wasted. We rarely see wasted and rotted food at this level, it is usually thoughtlessly tossed away and never seen again. If you consider food a life, think about how much life is wasted.

Awake was on exhibit at Stockton University's Visual Arts Alumni Triennial, July through November 2015.