Hybrid Exhibition: Akwasi Bediako Afrane
An exhibition featuring Akwasi Bediako Afrane's work that invites visitors to reflect on their relationship with e-waste through memory.
Tasked with designing a temporary exhibition at the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art, I created a series of interactive spaces that invite visitors to engage with forgotten electronics, reflect on their relationship with e-waste, and explore how the artist transforms discarded objects into new artifacts.
Individual
4 weeks
Spatial Designer
SketchUp, Illustrator, Photoshop, Procreate, Twinmotion
Visitors are introduced to the artist by interacting with a recreation of his electronic makerspace, browsing scattered notes and images that reflect his creative approach.
Area where staff are available to provide instructions and answer questions about navigating the various spaces.
Discarded electronics are placed on irregular shelves with instructions and reflective questions. When someone hovers their hand over a shelf, a projection activates and reveals a memory associated with that electronic.
Showcase of one of the artist’s installation works, Random Segments of Codes,
A full-room projection creates a cityscape of TRONS, where visitors interact with electronic components to explore how the artist repurposes these materials in his work.
Reflect on their experience and write down piece of memory from the exhibition.
Miller ICA, CMU’s contemporary art gallery, is the site I’ll be designing for. With limited space and the artist's room-scale works, deciding what to include and how to divide the gallery space becomes especially important.
I visited the Mattress Factory to see his installation work in person and was inspired by his interest in the connection between people, technology, and the digital world.
TRONS are Afrane’s reimagined electronic components—discarded parts transformed into interactive sculptures.
Working on this project was a rewarding experience in reimagining a traditional gallery into a series of interactive spaces that tell the story of the artist’s work. I learned the importance of finding a balance between creativity and practicality, such as designing interactions that feel intuitive without relying on written instructions. This project also reminded me that spatial design is not just about shaping the space itself, but about designing for the people who move through it!
