masterwork
141
141 is a visual journal, where the story responds to the creator’s emotions and thoughts that stem from existential anxiety. The journal is printed and has Swiss binding, and it is presented as an installation, in a reading corner. It tells the story on 76 pages, using a uniform panel structure, sometimes with illustrations and text. The research I conducted before creating the journal revealed the power of storytelling in fighting existential anxiety, and, reflecting on that, the main element of the journal is storytelling itself. The journey the creator describes in the journal evolved during the creative process (with the exception of some dramaturgical guide), and it contributed to the self-healing process. The drawings and written parts were created at the same time, during the creative process, and they keep reflecting on one another, so they are best considered as a whole. During the journey, the main character meets various creatures and persons and connects with them for a moment, but the story is mostly about the continuous, uninterrupted journey, and in the end the hero arrives where it all began. For the creator, the lesson of the story is the importance of letting go: we must let go of those around us and the events of our lives, and we must accept that we must see ourselves, too, as part of our lives that we must say farewell to, not only at the moment of our death, but during our lives, too, hopefully several times.
thesis
The emergence of fear of death in modern society
In my thesis I explore what role fear of death as a feeling has in modern society. In my research, I seek to understand how fear of death can be manifested in people’s lives, and what direct and indirect consequences death anxiety may have in our everyday life. During the semester I conducted in-depth interviews and explored the vast literature on this subject to find out about our real connection to death and how death as a fact has changed in people’s individual lives over the centuries. At the same time I was seeking a way to ease our negative feelings about our own mortality, so that we can live life to the fullest. This theoretical research is the basis of an online social platform that, when established, can help people connect through their shared experience of mortality, using the storytelling devices learnt in animation.