Project 02: SOS
Lost in Devices
I glanced from the tables to the bar at my favorite coffee shop. There was only one spot left. “Shit!” I said aloud, rushing to order and racing to the seat.
After snagging the seat, I immediately opened my laptop, relieved. But the wifi wouldn’t connect. I tried every strategy until the barista arrived with my drink.
“Oh, that looks really good. What is it?” said the person beside me.
“It’s a cortado,” I curtly replied, returning my focus back to the screen.
“That latte art is amazing,” said the person.
I was frustrated. I came to do work. The wifi was offline. Now this stranger was trying to talk to me. But then I noticed a kinder thought, “They want to connect.” I gently closed my laptop.
“What did you get?” I motioned to their glass.
We sipped and made small talk. I learned that he was a student at the University of Maryland, to which I promptly cheered, “I’m an alum!” I asked what he was studying. He asked what I do now. I told him that I founded a mental health nonprofit.
“How’d you get started with that?” he asked. I said, “Well, it all started when I was a student on campus. Freshman year, shit hit the fan…” I shared about my frequent panic attacks like the one time I was transported by an ambulance to the emergency room.
About an hour into our conversation, there was a pause. He looked me in the eyes, took a deep breath. Then nervously shared, “I can’t believe that I'm about to tell you this in a crowded cafe...You’re a complete stranger… I don’t even know you… But a couple of months ago I was in the hospital because I attempted to take my life...”
Project 02: SOS
The second iHuman project is a collage of New Yorker magazines. It includes cartoons and articles that feature technology from 2020 to 2025 magazine editions.
I am an avid fan of The New Yorker. I started saving magazines for this project in late 2022. I have been working on the collage for the past three months. Right before finishing, I ran out of clippings from my personal stash of magazines, and had to order additional stacks from 2020 and 2021 to complete the first phase of this project. Yes, there will be a second phase, to be released later this year.
Here are some photos and videos from the creative process:
