Date of Award
Spring 5-30-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Furniture
First Advisor
Andrew Mau
Second Advisor
Emily Cornell du Houx
Third Advisor
John Dunnigan
Abstract
YOU’RE TRAPPED. YOU CAN SEE THE EXIT BUT YOU CAN’T GET TO IT. EVERY TIME YOU MOVE, YOU RISK CUTTING YOURSELF ON THE SHARP EDGES OF THE TRANSLUCENT WALLS, SO YOU DON’T. YOU’RE STARTING TO SWEAT. NOT MOVING MAKES YOU INCREDIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE. YOU’RE BREATHING HEAVILY. YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE ABOUT TO PASS OUT, BUT YOU CAN’T BECAUSE IF YOU DO YOU KNOW THAT IT’S ALL OVER. SO YOU FORCE YOURSELF TO STAY AWAKE. THE WALLS ARE CLOSING IN ON YOU. YOU HAVE TO MAKE A MOVE. TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH. IN AN UNHUMAN EFFORT, YOU REACH UP TO THE UPPER EDGES OF THE WALLS KNOWING VERY WELL THEY WERE GOING TO CUT YOUR HANDS BADLY. SCREAMING TO THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS, IN AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF PAIN, YOU SOMEHOW MANAGE TO LIFT YOURSELF UP AND ABOVE THE MAZE. YOU’RE SAFE. FROM HERE, EVERYTHING IS SO CLEAR. YOU WERE TRAPPED IN A SEEMINGLY INFINITE GRID. AN AMAZINGLY BRIGHT LIGHT SHINES ABOVE YOUR HEAD. IS IT THE SUN? THE SKY TURNS ______. YOU’RE BLINDED. YOU CAN’T SEE ANYTHING ELSE BUT THIS INVASIVE COLOR. YOU PUT YOUR WOUNDED HANDS IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES IN ORDER TO BLOCK IT. SURPRISINGLY, YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THEM BUT EVERYTHING IS WAY SOFTER NOW. IT’S LIKE YOUR HANDS TURNED INTO SHADES. THE WORLD IS WAY SMOOTHER NOW AND YOU REALIZE THAT NOT EVERYTHING IS SHARP AND BRIGHT. RELIEVED, A DISTANT SOUND CATCHES YOUR ATTENTION ON THE HORIZON. IT SOUNDS LIKE WAVES THAT ARE CRASHING SOFTLY ON A SANDY SHORE. LOOKING DOWN AT YOUR FEET, THEY’RE NOW COVERED WITH FINE SAND. WHEN YOU LOOK BACK UP, YOU FIND THAT THE MAZE IS GONE AND IT TRANSFORMED INTO A GIGANTIC BEACH THAT IS STANDING ON THE EDGE OF INFINITY. LAYING DOWN ON THE SAND, A FEELING OF PEACE TRAVELS THROUGH YOUR ENTIRE BODY MAKING IT WARMER AS IT PASSES. IT’S HAPPINESS, OR AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK.
Recommended Citation
Chouinard, Will, "You are trapped." (2020). Masters Theses. 509.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/509
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.