Keeping Your Inner Child Alive
The brief
A five-month senior thesis at NYU Tisch: a visual project exploring nostalgia, play and creativity, carried from first idea all the way to a gallery wall.
The idea
Creativity doesn’t have to be serious or structured; it can be messy, fun and childlike. I turned familiar things like rubber ducks, alphabet beads, stickers, pipe cleaners and toy jewelry into bold, colorful compositions that evoke nostalgia and wonder, and designed and hand-built 80% of the props and set pieces, plus hand-built wooden frames painted to color-match each image.
The outcome
Across multiple shoots I refined more than 4,000 images down to one final frame per look. I curated the final seven-image series and directed its selection, sequencing, framing and installation for the NYU Tisch senior thesis exhibition, seen by an audience of 700+.
Sketch → final
Every look started as a sketch, with notes on props, styling and background. Seven made it into the final series; two stayed on paper.
Building the world
I designed and hand-built 80% of the props and set pieces, from charm-covered goggles to pipe-cleaner flowers, plus hand-built wooden frames painted to color-match each image.
Original capture → final edit
From more than 4,000 captures I chose one frame per look, then built the final color and background in the edit.
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The final series
The exhibition
I mapped out the wall before hanging it, with each print in a frame painted to match its image. Then I directed the selection, sequencing, framing and installation for the NYU Tisch senior thesis exhibition, seen by an audience of 700+.
Wall plan
Installed
