INTRO WIP
“I’m Fine” attempts to ease the pain of loneliness by taking things lightly and empowering people to make meaningful connections by sharing their stories. The project can act as an outlet of emotions and/or an alternative way to seeing things differently, hopefully wittilly.
In this project, participants are asked to submit a story of a small incident that triggers loneliness. I will then draw it. Each participant will receive one of the drawings that wasn’t their own. In this way, they are sharing loneliness and empathy with strangers.
Here, participants are asked to end their story submissions with “I’m Fine.” – a phrase full of denials and self-affirmation. It seems like a default response to incidents that triggers sorrow. We say it often because we want to believe that we are going to be fine. It is almost ironic and comedic how much we want to feel positive when something sad happens. Essentially, the aim of the project is to cheer people up by taking things lightly and humorously. By writing “I’m Fine”, I hope it provides some closure to the participant’s lonely story.
The year of 2021 started off lonely and isolated. This project proposes the idea that taking the piss out of yourself eases the pain. The drawings here use humour as a medium to provide a different perspective to the story. It is particularly true when things are taken slightly out of context. A part of the story is usually taken out as a base for re-imagination. What would happen if the participant views the story as an outsider, like watching a tv show? This part of the story is used as a prompt to change the focus of the narrative. The comedy is no longer about the whole story but a part of the story.
The project proposes the idea that people can make meaningful connections within intimacy. The process of connecting with others can be vague, mysterious, almost literary. It’s like reading a book. We get to know a little bit of someone’s life by reading about their stories. Although the author or the characters are strangers to us, we connect with them in the moment.