214 Sq. Ft.

214 Sq. Ft. is an interactive installation that invites those who enter to contemplate the lived experience of homely impermanence and poverty in America. It resembles a room in one of the many small motels that dot the cities and towns of Orange County, California. Originally intended for use by vacationing families that flocked to southern California, these independent motels have become temporary havens for families that would otherwise be homeless or residing in shelters.

The installation recreates a full-sized partially enclosed motel room, roughly 214 square feet, and includes the furniture found in motel rooms (beds, dresser, nightstand, lamps, curtains, bedding) as well as found objects representing the personal belongings of a composite family as derived from ethnographic research and documentary footage.  Personal narratives of inhabitants are embedded in the space to invoke motel life through its objects.  Audio and video recordings emanate discretely from objects (lamps, paintings), and portions of narratives are printed on bedding, inscribed in the wallpaper, and etched on the furniture. As an advocacy tool for Project Hope, 214 Sq. Ft. has raised awareness and millions of dollars for the organization