A Familial Juncture

Thesis, Interactive Telecommunciations Program

An interactive textile exploration of my family’s history working at 370 Jay Street that explores ways of archiving memories and family stories.

ABSTRACT

Before 370 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn was part of NYU’s Brooklyn campus and the home of ITP, it was the headquarters of the New York Transit Authority, which later became the MTA. One year into my time at ITP, through a casual conversation with my great-aunt at a funeral, I learned that she, my great-uncle, and my great-grandfather all worked at 370 Jay Street for the transit system in the 1950s and 60s. In the weeks and months that followed this discovery, I began researching this connection by spending time with my great-aunt and looking through family photos and documents that she kept at her home. A Familial Juncture is an interactive textile record of what I learned, saw, and heard throughout this process. Materials include photos taken by my great-grandfather, quotes from my great-aunt, newspaper articles, and various documents, each telling a different part of the story – a story of connection facilitated by a shared space over the course of seventy years.

THESIS PRESENTATION

TECHNICAL DETAILS

A Familial Juncture consists of twenty-five textile squares joined together by grommets and yarn. Images and text were laser-engraved onto fabric and assembled through sewing and adhesive to create interactive, exploratory elements. One tile acts as a photo slide viewer, where a light is activated when any of four slides are held up to it. People are invited to open, unfold, explore, read, and feel the interactive elements of the quilt. Some elements include opening a copy of the New Yorker made out of fabric, revealing photos stored in a pocket, uncovering hidden notes on the backs of documents, and lifting photos to find the context behind them.

NYC RESISTOR INSTALLATION

I showed A Familial Juncture at NYC Resistor on April 12, 2024


See how I made A Familial Juncture here.