Exploring Personal Narrative Through the Tarot

During this semester I responded to the module tasks by using the Tarot as an anchor for my creative development. The first module centred around the elements of earth, water, air, and fire, requiring us to respond to one of them. When it occurred to me that all four elements are represented within the Minor Arcana suits of the tarot and that they were combined within the Major Arcana card of The Magician, it presented an interesting challenge to construct a piece that presented all four (for an explanation of the basic terms relevant to the Tarot, view my post here). Given the heavily symbolic nature of the Tarot, its personal relevance, as well as the prolific options for cards to recreate (78 individual cards), I decided to make each module a response to a specific card as a means of developing a personal narrative. This process has resulted in an installation project that is both extremely candid and vulnerable, while also being aesthetically interesting but ambiguous to the layperson. So that the installation does not become so ambiguous that my message is not communicated, the works will be accompanied by didactic material that gives a general explanation of each card. This is to give the audience a gently guided experience, while not imposing an interpretation of the meaning of the works when observed as a collection.