During the second week we have been asked to work in groups of 3-4 people, and to merge our individual interpretations to create a homogeneous one, by considering similarities and differences.
Teamwork has been very stimulating for me as well as an added value to my own practice. It has been interesting to experiment new techniques and methodologies, as well as the conversation with people with different practice backgrounds. It is amazing how you can learn from each other and how you never stop doing it, as soon as you learn to listen properly to others as well as to yourself. It also has been exciting applying to different contexts our graphic interpretations. For the first time I trusted my instinct, I did not feel uncomfortable even though I was out of my comfort zone, and even if I had to working in a group, which is a new thing to me.
The teamwork has been mainly harmonious. Although there were some differences of opinion, we always managed to find a compromise, sometimes even using a rating system.
During the third week we analysed how we have gradually moved from complete chaos, to a clearer context, to a greater coherence and awareness in our means and in our interpretations, as everything has gradually acquired a more concrete sense. It was time to create the right connections, a kind of bridge between one interpretation and the other, find out what was in between, or even hidden. To create the perfect symphony, a single narrative, by combining those ideas that even if created in a random way were already fundamentally closely linked to each other.
A very important part of the group project has been the research process, which has been developed by using some useful tools such as Miro boards. Finally, we came up with the idea of creating a cube shaped installation in which people could immerse themselves and live a unique experience, by having the opportunity to know the story told by James Joyce in Ulysses in a completely new way, entering a world of images, sounds, colours, lights, and flavours.
Our intention was to grab people’s attention and curiosity, to make people approaching Joyce’s Ulysses in a completely new way, keeping his legacy alive and making it accessible to a 21st century audience.
This is how our group project, Bloom, came alive during the fourth week.
Bloom is first a concept based on the idea of meeting, which came up to my mind after the lecture about context. Starting from the simple image of a chair till the more complex concept of how people sit together to discuss their different positions and share their thoughts. This led to the idea of creating a space that could be a meeting point for travellers from all around the world. But how could this be connected to James Joyce’s Ulysses? This text is inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, which tells the journey Ulysses made to come back home. Like Homer’s Odyssey, Joyce’s Ulysses tells about the journey the main character, Leopold Bloom, makes during an ordinary day in Dublin. This made me think about how basically each of us during his life faces an inner journey, and how interesting is share with people thoughts and experiences. Looking for the meaning of the word meet in the Cambridge Dictionary, I came across this description “to touch, join or experience something.” I thought that these are three of the key points of our entire project. But what exactly people would have the chance to join, touch, or experience? First, other people, with common interests or not, intentionally or not; second, the book, or at least part of it, and they would probably be curious to find out more about it; third, even if not directly, the author. They would try to understand his intention in writing this story and they would maybe start asking questions. People would have the opportunity to explore and experience first-hand the story told by the author in a whole new way, immersing themselves completely in it and becoming part of James Joyce’s legacy.