For my final project, I decided to make a zine inspired by a friend’s memories/personal experience surrounding food. I compiled a list of broad questions I could ask my friend regarding their definition of a memory, why we have memories, what memories mean to them, and etc. I chose to focus my project on the idea of memories after the postcard making project we did in class. Also, as someone who attaches significant meaning to their own memories, I wanted to see if this was the case for my friend as well.
Interview:
My friend was purposefully not made aware of the “gift” aspect of this project, and only knew that my project involved an initial interview and a follow-up interview (where I would actually hand them the gift). The interview was recorded on my phone and then transcribed on my computer.
The actual interview subverted my expectations. Since my friend was in The School of Jazz at The New School, I thought the memories they would be willing to share with me would be focused on performing/music-related. However, this was not the case. Most of the personal experiences my friend described to me were rooted in food, specifically American-Chinese food and Puerto-Rican food.
Project:
I decided on creating a zine in InDesign for my final project. The zine consists of a compilation of pictures I took at specific locations my friend mentioned in the interview (Wo Hop in Chinatown) and places with specific ingredients/brands (C-Supermarket on Avenue C). I edited the photos using PhotoShop and brought them over into InDesign. I transcribed the interview and used sections that I felt were the most impactful/meaningful in my final project. At the time I shared my project with our class, my friend had not yet received the gift.
Reaction:
My friend was genuinely happy and surprised! I explained to them the true nature of this project and my thought process regarding the zine itself. It also made me genuinely happy to see how positively affected they were by my project.