The totem was originally used to symbolize core parts of a story and faith, protecting and guiding the community who believe in it. Our brief was to find a contemporary way to apply that idea to our lives today. Humanity at the third decade of the 21st century is led by a variety of values, but quarantines and limitations during the covid pandemic, made us notice them in their sudden absence.
A collaboration with Michael Polezhay.
In Israel, the first year of covid made each person and community prioritize their values. We found out exactly how radically different our perspectives were. Some gave importance to family gatherings (like weddings and holidays), some to education of children, some to leisure activities such as restaurants and swimming pools, some to earning their livelihood, and some for mere health. The social contract was threatening to shatter in a battlefield of values.
Top 5 - dismantled words. Bottom 5 - reassembled words. (Right to left: Family, Leisure, Livelihood, Education, Health)
This project puts the attention on five main values (Family, Leisure, Livelihood, Education, and Health), which were dismantled due to circumstances. It gives an opportunity to put them back together - physically and spiritually. The task of identifying the word each object represent is challenging. So is the mission of repairing those values as a society.
Early sketches
Plan of final version
Computer demo
