Memento 

My memento represents the walks I would often take with my family at Fairfield Hills in CT. I enjoyed these walks around Fairfield Hills because the hospital that was located there was very fun to explore. It had at one time been a psychiatric hospital but was closed down officially in 1995 and has fallen into complete disrepair. Everything front chipped paint to broken windows give the hospital a much more eerie feel. Additionally there are tunnels running underneath the main buildings to transport patients. Many of the sixteen buildings are cordoned off by chain link fences to deter trespassers but you can peer unto the windows of other ones and see trash, dust, and dried leaves.

 I used metal wire to symbolize the chain link fencing that surrounds many of the buildings. The circle of latex is cut out from a latex glove to represent the sterile feeling that the grounds seem to permeate.

 The red ribbon is representative of the lives that once occupied the hospital grounds and gave it life. Now the grounds are lifeless, there is no movement or activity other than some joggers.

The final piece is made into a circle because our walks would almost always take us in a giant circle around the property and bring us back to our starting destination. Additionally the metal is tugging at the latex to show how the purpose of the hospital was stretched out for as long as it could until it was ultimately closed down.