Outwhere is a collaborative publication and object-based collection that explores abandoned spaces through a multi-sensory experience. The project bridges past and present by capturing the emotional and cultural traces left behind in forgotten environments.
Year
2021
Scope
Publication
This collection consists of an 11" × 17" tabloid publication accompanied by four interactive components: a foldable poster, a travel keychain featuring ten “commandments,” an album of visualized soundwaves recorded in abandoned sites, and custom Snapchat filters designed to document personal experiences. Together, these elements create an immersive system that extends beyond traditional print into physical and digital interaction.
The project aims to connect former inhabitants of these spaces with present-day explorers by translating memory, atmosphere, and absence into visual and sensory forms. Through collaged photography, curated audio, poetry, essays, and written narratives, the work draws from perspectives in psychology, sociology, anthropology, and technology to examine how spaces retain meaning over time. The design approach reflects themes of time and transience. The publication’s large format and physical weight emphasize presence, while its conceptual intention to be eventually abandoned mirrors the lifecycle of the spaces it represents. The act of reading becomes performative, as the turning of pages requires physical movement that echoes the gestures of urban exploration. A triadic layout structure represents past, present, and future, with visual elements intentionally carrying over between spreads to suggest how history continuously overlaps with the present. This project was developed in collaboration with Leilani Rants, Gabby Lambeth, and Josh Sullivan.
