Randall's Island
Year
2025
Role
Tools
Adobe Creative Suite
Figma
Project Type
Immersive Exhibit Design
An abstract animated exhibit that visualizes the hidden burial history of Randall’s and Wards Island, using motion and atmosphere to evoke remembrance, displacement, and loss.
CONTEXT
This project was developed as part of a Mellon Foundation–supported initiative exploring Islands, Archipelagos, and the Cultural Ecology of New York. The work engages with place-based histories and digital storytelling to surface narratives embedded within New York City’s overlooked landscapes, using immersive media as a tool for research, interpretation, and public engagement.
PROCESS
Our team began with historical and archival research on Randall’s and Wards Islands, focusing on their ecological conditions and institutional burial histories. We synthesized this research into a narrative framework, identifying themes of land, water, displacement, and remembrance. Through collaborative storyboarding and iterative visual prototyping, we explored how motion, abstraction, and spatial projection could respectfully represent absence without literal depiction. The final installation was refined through multiple iterations, balancing historical sensitivity with immersive, single-projector design constraints.
FINAL PRODUCT
