For this project, originally, I planned on creating a feminist piece, but the execution fell short when the projections did not show up well enough to be viewable, so I scrapped that idea and started over. The second (or third) time around, I decided to stop putting so much focus/ emphasis on what I was projecting, and to start focusing my attention on what to project onto, and to let the theme of the work come to after playing around with the object(s). I began scouring my house and thrift store for strange items I could turn into video projection art. Eventually, after digging through the garage for about an hour, I found the item I knew I wanted to work with. I found the motorized/ spinning base for my miniature tinsel christmas tree and decided it was perfect because when turned on, it spins and reflects colors with lights. After tinkering around with it, I noticed I needed something on it in order to reflect the light and colors. I then got this idea of creating a new world within a cup, placed atop the spinning christmas tree base, and took off with the idea. Inside the cup I placed an alien, and made a scene depicting an alien at a portal, perhaps entering our world, or leaving through the portal to depart back to his own planet. I wanted to convey themes and thinking about new worlds, planets, aliens, space, all while creating something aesthetically pleasing. Overall, I think it turned out great and I had a lot of fun playing around with objects for this project. In the future, I'd like to expand this project as an installation with multiple projectors so I could create several mini alternate worlds / universes through cups and with refracting light.
