We, the Universe

From September to December of this year, Don and I were honored to be involved with the Emily Carr University on Granville Island in Vancouver. We co-taught a class called Senior Core Studio, in which 4th year students get to work with a topic of their choice. The students had 12 weeks to take their projects from Concept to Completion. Our job was to listen, empathize, motivate and encourage.

There were so many great projects, so many great ideas, however there was one project that stood out because of its wonderful mixture of concept, imagery, narration and execution. The project was aptly titled “We, the Universe” by Ms. Maggie Chok. Believe it or not, the universe was just one or four areas that she was hoping to explore within her all encompassing topic.

Maggie set out to explore the physical and metaphorical implications of DEPTH that transcended traditional norms such as art and literature. In order to achieve this kind of reverence for life, Space was to be her mechanism. She created a series of four books that utilized unique philosophical and metaphorical devices to approach outer space: Matter, Forces, Scale and Perception. Her goal for each book was to illicit a sense of awe and wonder in whomever read through them. Mission accomplished.

Nuff said, have a look. All Images courtesy of Maggie Chok

~ tyukawa (We’re looking forward to our next opportunity at ECU in 2009)