thelifejacks

[thelifejacks]

[thelifejacks]

Blog 5: Our final reflection and the presentation

This week marked the final stage of our immigration project. After weeks of research, discussion, and creative development, we were set to share our artefact as a presentation.

Using time beforehand we set up our props accordingly, we attached our 7 moodboards onto our sail stand, placing them in the order of our timeline. We then rehearsed our lines and discussed an order of where we were going to stand. We decided we needed the stand in the middle meaning three people would stand on one side and four people would stand on the other side. We also placed our tarp with the sand off to the left side so that the final speaker would place the jacket down to symbolise the end of that part of the journey and the start of another. From further discussion we decided that we would each hold the jacket whilst we were speaking in our order, showing the process of it traveling through the emotions. 

The presentation itself went smooth sailing (no pun intended) and felt like a genuine completion of all the work we’ve put in. As a group, we divided our speaking parts evenly and ordered ourselves accordingly to the timeline. I spoke about the process of my moodboard and the inspiration behind what I inserted onto the lifejacket. Also taking the time to mention some symbols of immigration.

As a reflection on the overall group experience I've had for this module, I really think my group worked well together. Early on, we made the effort to communicate openly and jumped straight into making a group chat to discuss tasks, research and ideas. I also always felt as though my thoughts were valid and heard and if anyone had an idea or any issues, we were able to easily problem solve. I found we were also able to easily share tasks based on each person’s strengths and interests. Which helped everyone feel included and encouraged us to stay organized and motivated. Naturally, there were challenges ranging from differing opinions and time pressures but we learned to navigate these issues respectfully and with a shared focus on our common goal. Personally, I’ve developed my ability to listen actively and compromise/give feedback when needed. We all became quite comfortable within sharing our own thoughts which I found really helped improve both our artefact and our group dynamic. Looking back, I’m proud not only of the work we produced, but of how we came together as a team to tell a story that matters. This project has been both creatively and emotionally fulfilling, opening my mind further and leaving me with a deeper understanding on immigration and the incredible yet extremely hard journey these people have to go through.

[thelifejacks]

[thelifejacks]

Blog 4: Creating ‘The Life of the Jacket’

As our group project on immigration progressed, we shifted our focus from research to creation. With our chosen symbol, the lifejacket, we began designing an artefact that would represent the human stories, risks, and resilience tied to migration journeys. Our lecturer was able to find us a life jacket which we were able to use as the base of our artifact. 

Our concept was to create a timeline through 7 stages on the boat and each create a moodboard. My stage was near the start of the journey and the emotion I was given was excitement. I created a moodboard with yellow, orange and red hints to symbolise this emotion, as well as plants to represent a new life, adaptation and growth. I also added extra images that represent laughter and sadness to also convey that those emotions are still present. As these ideas would be used on the lifejacket I wanted to focus on images/ideas  that not only would draw attention visually, but also carry the emotional and symbolic weight of the real life experiences. 

The production process began with gathering materials and sketching ideas. I was the 5th person to get the lifejacket, to add my materials on. I used little blue, green and clear beads strung together and sewed them onto the jacket to represent both water droplets and seaglass, metaphorically representing transformation over time, which mirrors the immigrants’ creation of a new identity and being shaped by their journeys and experiences. I also added plants, for the continued idea of adaptation, growth and new life. 

My extra role in the group was to print off everybody's moodboards onto A4 paper, we then would hang these up on our presentation day, on a wooden stand that was made by the architecture student. We used a canvas style fabric for the stand to initiate a boat sail. Another group member from musical theatre, made a script so that we could all add our descriptions of what our mood board represents on easily.

As we are near the end of our project it has been rewarding seeing our research and ideas come together. We hope our artefact serves as a conversation starter, something that forces the viewer to pause, reflect, and engage with deeper meaning behind what might otherwise be seen as just an everyday object.

[thelifejacks]

[thelifejacks]

Blog 3: Research, Symbolism and a development of ideas

Moving further into our group project on immigration, our research has taken a more focused direction. After exploring various aspects of the topic and discussing multiple ideas, we decided to center our work around a powerful and deeply symbolic object, the life jacket.

The life jacket has become an iconic representation of immigration, particularly in the context of refugees and migrants crossing dangerous waters in search of safety. From research, the life jacket is often left behind on beaches or displayed in museums and exhibitions at the end of their journey. We have found that life jackets tell a silent but powerful story of hope, desperation, and survival. 

Our decision to focus on this object came from a desire to highlight the human experience behind immigration. The life jacket is more than just a flotation device, it is a representation of a moment of extreme risk, courage, and hope for a better future. This is where we also created our group name, ‘The LifeJacks’.

From speaking with our lecturer we were able to gain feedback and develop our ideas further. We have decided to focus on the migrants' emotions from their journey on the boats when crossing for safety and include this onto the life jacket. As there are 7 people in my group we gave out 7 emotions/stages to the journey on the boats. We concluded that we could each present a mood board showing our research and our own interpretations of the emotion we were given, and then take turns in adding things from our mood boards (for example a plant) onto the lifejacket. Following our ideas, we discussed ways in which we could present our artifact. Using the life jacket as the main draw of attention and advice we were given from our lecturer we would each hold the jacket whilst speaking about our process and research behind it.

This research and idea development phase has been extremely eye-opening for us, in encouraging my group to think critically about how objects can carry deep emotional and political weight.

[thelifejacks]

[thelifejacks]

Blog 2: Guest Talks and emerging ideas

These recent weeks have marked a significant turning point in our group project as we had the opportunity to attend several guest talks that brought real life insight to our research on immigration. Hearing directly from people working in the field to someone who has lived the migration experience. We had 4 guest speakers come in and explain their views and experiences. These were Abigail Burt, explaining the art and role of marine science in the ever changing climate, Tom Skeys, who spoke to us about storytelling through experience, perception and narrative structures, Charles Leddy Owen, who is a local advocate for immigration rights and spoke to us about approaching immigrant narratives and Majid who spoke about his life story as an immigrant and how it shaped him and his work. Having these guest speakers has really enriched our understanding. It’s one thing to read about immigration in reports or headlines, but it’s another to hear directly from those experiencing or supporting it firsthand. 

Personally I found that the most impactful talk came from Majid. He was able to speak from his personal experience, ranging from the challenges, fears, emotions he was faced. He was able to answer any questions we had, which really helped us understand his experiences as well as this topic further. I was able to really empathise with him throughout his whole talk. He spoke about how he had to leave behind his family, including his mother, and that he will never be able to return to his place of birth, making him fully aware that he will never be able to see her again. Although through extremely different experiences I really resonated with this and I think just hearing how he spoke about everything with emotion and passion was truly incredible. His talk enabled me and my group to gather a deeper understanding of what migrants go through not only the journey they take but the journey after too, opening our minds to the fact that the journey isn't over when they arrive. We were also able to explore our ideas with Majid at the end of his talk, which really helped us with our development. 

During a guest talk, we were tasked to create a small 3D model associated with words. Our group did this in the form of a carousel. This gave us the idea of creating an artifact in reflection. Initially we spoke about a dream catcher, branching out to pictures or stories. We spoke about the complexity of understanding immigration and migrants stories so I shared an idea that we needed something bold yet effective to carry the point we were trying to convey across. A group member shared their idea of creating a life jacket which everyone loved. The decision of the lifejacket will be used as a representation of the story the migrants have to undertake and face in order to migrate.

As a group, we’re now thinking more deeply about how we will create our artifact. We want to ensure that we treat these stories with respect and accuracy, and that we’re mindful of the voices we amplify.

[thelifejacks]

Blog 1: Starting the Conversation, Immigration and meeting the group

Immigration is one of the most pressing and complex issues faced by societies today. It can be driven by employment opportunities, joining family, escaping conflict or persecution and even fleeing from natural disasters and climate change. 

This week marked the beginning of our group project. We had 7 people in our group studying different courses from architecture, photography, journalism and musical theatre. Due to the very different course options this gave each of us a unique perspective on how we would view the work ahead. My initial thought was how we could all come together and collaboratively produce an artifact, which includes everyone's specialities as well as include everyone's ideas to ensure they were involved. We were prompted by our lecturer to discuss our views on immigration, what it meant to us and how we interpreted the topic, as well as initial ideas we may have for our artifact. As a group we first focused on the idea of animal migration. Lots of animals migrate to avoid harsh weather conditions, to find food and water sources and find suitable breeding grounds. During the comparison of animals and humans a thought that circled my mind was how animals don't have to worry about the recognition of  borders, they are free to migrate across continents, oceans, and skies. Yet for people, the immigration movement is controlled by invisible lines drawn on maps, controlling who is free to move and who is not, all handled by politics and the government. 

As a group we discussed potential ideas about the artifact we were set to make. We all collectively decided that we wanted to create a physical object, first focusing on the idea of clay. Thinking back to the migration of animals, an idea was brought up about making a bird, as a symbolism of freedom, another idea we had was embroidery, using different fabrics from the world.