The Ordinaries Lair
This illustrative installation piece revolves around my Honors thesis, a middle grade novel titled The Ordinaries. It simulates a section of the main characters’ “lair,” or basement hideout, where they train to fight monsters and solve the mysteries of their secret society. The ordinary objects that they use as weapons—an umbrella, flashlight, and briefcase—are set up around the area, and a stack of paper on the desk is presented as if it were a compiled set of the kids’ memoirs. As an installation, this project invites the viewer to step into the novel in a unique way. The worlds we experience in books are imaginary, but a three-dimensional environment adds a note of wonder and uncanniness as the viewer interacts with a story through their senses.