Packing and Unpacking: A Virtual Suitcase
How would you pack your belongings with dignity, bringing only what you can carry, without knowing your destination or how long you would be there?
With this virtual guided experience in collective memory, designed by digital artist Max Woo, you will participate in the scenario that over 125,284 Japanese Americans encountered during World War II when forcibly removed from their homes and imprisoned in over 75 incarceration sites across the U.S.
The following instructions were stated in the Civil Exclusion Order: Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry issued May 12, 1942:
Evacuees must carry with them on departure for the Assembly Center, the following property:
- Bedding and linens (no mattress) for each member of the family;
- Toilet articles for each member of the family;
- Extra clothing for each member of the family;
- Essential personal effects for each member of the family
All items carried will be securely packaged, tied and plainly marked with the name of the owner and numbered in accordance with instructions obtained at the Civil Control Station. The size and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual or family group.
No pets of any kind will be permitted.
No personal items and no household goods will be shipped to the Assembly Center.
What does it mean to have to take only what is essential?
What objects, memories, and loved ones must you leave behind?
This exercise asks you to reconcile what you choose to value and carry with you, and what will be left behind.
Platform Designer: Max Woo; Music: J.Kishi; Illustration design: Marie Dull; Supporting Programmer: Abdallah Alawareh; Concept and design in collaboration with Courtney Ozaki and Onur Topal-Sümer. Items included in this virtual game were identified from stories and reflections shared by community members, including the formerly incarcerated or their descendents surveyed across the United States.
NI DO TO installations will be free and open to the public in the lobby of the Ferst Center for the Arts on the Georgia Tech campus.
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., from September 18 through October 27 (closed on 9/30 and 10/21 for home football games.)
