SHROUDED : Transmedia storytelling in a post-pandemic world

Abstract

Loss has played an undeniably significant role in my life, and by extension has become a unifying theme in my art for the past twenty years. Experienced in the realities of loss, I have approached this topic from various vantages from the political to the personal. Through this project, I present a universal outlook.

The pandemic has set the stage for us to observe and participate in the very human experience of grief and loss--and perhaps more interesting, our ability to grow and learn from it. How do we as complex individuals and as a collective society find the facilities to cope when faced with life’s inevitable challenges that so often affect our mental well-being?

Storytelling is at the heart of this project. Phase one examines Instagram as an interactive, ever-evolving platform to dive into deeper, more meaningful content. Phase two explores a podcast as the medium to maximize the impact of candid conversations, spoken word, and auditory reflections. The purpose of this undertaking is to understand traumas and triumphs we as a society have faced and embraced as a result of isolation and loneliness brought on by the pandemic by highlighting shared experiences through curated collective narratives.

Thus, SHROUDED, or Kafan, meaning “shroud” in Arabic, is a transmedia series that explores the universality of loss by integrating organic storytelling with digital technologies to evoke complex emotions. Incorporating components such as social and digital media, these mediums tell stories not only of what we have lost, but of what we have found.