We currently live in a period in which we visit as few locations as possible. We stay at home, don’t go on vacation and isolate ourselves from the outside world. In this situation, media offers an escape from reality and gives us an alternative option to experience the world and be together. In this project I tried to offer my audience a different way of traveling and a solution to get to know and discover the world around them while they stay in their own bedrooms.
I'd like to take you on a journey through the past and de present of North Brother Island. A small strip of land on the coast of Manhattan, surrounded by the city that never sleeps, but is silenced itself. The island has a disturbing history of isolation. For example the island used to be an quarantaine Island, where New York stored upcoming pandemics. Based on the history of the island I wrote 5 truthful stories that show us how pandemics where handled around the second industrial revolution and what isolation and institutions can do to a human life. The stories include an lot of subject that are nowadays still relevant, such as racism, immigrants and pandemics. In my opinion, it is very important that these stories continue to live in our thoughts and help us to approach the future differently. My main goal with this project was to make sure that these kind of stories won’t be forgotten like the people who spend their time on the island in isolation.
Introduction teaser for the interactive map of the North Brother Island:
Now grab a beer, make yourself comfortable and take a trip through the past and the present of the North Brother Island:
