A touring musician approached me to create a "Remembrance Altar" for a Dia de Muertos themed event. They wanted to have a place for patrons to place photos and notes to honor loved ones who have passed, but needed it to take a recognizably different form than a traditional "ofrenda" to respect cultural sensitivity.
I proposed that the "Remembrance Altar" be comprised of cards and photos suspended midair in the form of a 10'x20' wave. Patrons would attach notes, photos, and small trinkets of loved ones to a piece of filament, where they hover above and around the patrons as they walked throughout the piece. A specially made pearlescent paper would make the notes twinkle as they gently spun in the ambient air currents.
After the client approved the concept, I designed the wave using trigonometric functions, engaged a vendor to produce the note paper, fabricated the frame and nearly 1000 pieces of custom length monofilament suspension wire, and transported and installed the piece for the three-day event.
Patron response to the piece was phenomenal, with many emotional moments. The structure was quickly filled each day. After each day of the event, I relocated each of the notes and photos from the structure to display them on the walls of the room, allow new people to participate every day.
Finally, after the event concluded all the remaining notes and photos were arranged into the shape of the musician's icon and ritually burned, releasing the memories contained within.