Wire, Tissue Paper, String, Lights, Plastic
Wisdom. Guidance. Celebration. Good fortune. Welcome. Hope. Lanterns have had many meanings throughout the ages, and those meanings vary from culture to culture, but at their core, they have one common purpose. They are meant to shelter the light within and protect it from the harsh weather in the outside world. Looking at the world today, it can seem like a very dark and lonely place. For the past two years, the pandemic has been raging on and many people have suffered greatly because of it. Looking to the future, it feels like there will be no end to the masks and social distancing. Even just turning on the news with its negative focus can suck all the joy and hope out of just about anyone. With everything going on in the world today, it is easy to feel like life has crashed down around us and we are just wading through the wreckage, desperately trying to salvage something. I created For the Dark Times as a reminder that there is still hope and light in the world, even in dark times like these. This work explores the ideas of light and hope and the relationships between them to give people their own little bit of light and hope to tuck in their hearts for the dark times. I have always been fascinated by light and how, though it lacks physical form, its presence or absence can fill space, set a mood, and express emotions. I drew a lot of inspiration from Anila Quayyum Agha’s Intersections, a huge metal lantern with Islamic patterns cut out of it. She used light to connect through culture and create a sense of peace. I was especially interested in how her piece promoted unity and connected deeply with her own experiences as an Islamic woman. Unlike Intersections, which focuses heavily on patterns, For the Dark Times uses many colorful lanterns that come together to form one whole, and this is a huge part of my theme for this piece.
