Brief 5/25

Alec Perez-Albuerne

This project is a memorial for the fatal victims of every school shooting in the 21st century. The memorial consists of 226 lockers arranged in the form of a handgun, where each locker is dedicated to a victim and contains their name, age, and other information. In 2018 the younger generation is demanding change to gun control laws in the United States. Movements such as March for Our Lives are attempting to create an environment in which gun violence is no longer a threat. This project is designed to raise awareness about gun violence and show others the harm that weapons in schools can do. It is also meant to denormalize and personalize the school shootings that occur every year in this country. Too often the headlines tell about school massacres and this project's purpose is to force the public to put names, faces, and personalities to the numbers they hear about. The project was created not only for each of the victims but for those in the public who walk blindly each day through a country that is not safe for themselves or their children. 

Each locker is a 10"x6"x4" wooden box with a door that swings open on brass hinges. Inside each locker is a stencil that can be slid through a slot on top of each box that contains the stenciled name, age, and a personal detail about each victim as well as the school and location where the shooting occurred. On the back of each stencil is a picture of each victim on cardstock. Concealed behind the stencil in the back of the locker is an LED strip that illuminates the card stock picture and the stencil, giving the whole piece a ghostly aesthetic. All 226 lockers are attached to a large wooden backpiece pre-designed in the shape of a handgun. Once all the lockers are installed, the back piece is covered and the lockers appear to be making the gun on their own.