Thesis Progress

For my thesis I will be developing an interactive installation that will depict the experience of going through cancer in an attempt to demystify it. My installation will adapt some of the conventions of a board game, creating an life-size “ice-breaker” environment for the viewer. By introducing humor and the game concept, the viewer will relax and let down their guard, making them more receptive to the stories and information my project will communicate.

The installation will feature the experiences of myself and other cancer survivors, in the form of short Flash animations and textual quotes. These experiences, positive and negative, will be the vehicle to move the viewer forward and backward through the “game”, metaphorically trying to reach their goal of survival but facing setbacks along the way. The frustration of physically moving back and forth (or up and down, using steps) will support this idea. If they reach the “end”, the viewer will spin a “Wheel of Survival” to determine their Fate, reflecting the inevitable randomness that unfortunately always play a role in the outcome of this disease. The wheel will be an information graphic based on statistics, reflecting gender, race, and age, as well as different types of cancer. By merging these two aspects of the disease—the emotional experiences versus the hard facts and the medical realities, I set out to create a very personal work that will educate, empower, and give people a deeper understanding of this important issue.