Emma Landwerlen is an illustrator and social practice artist raised in and working out of Indianapolis, IN. They graduated from Butler University with a degree in Art+Design, and later from the University of Indianapolis with a Masters of Social Practice Art. Their practice focuses on communities built on identity and experience rather than place, with an emphasis on the preservation of queer history in the Midwest. Emma’s work also delves into personal histories and our relationships with memory. When not working, they can be found exploring weird museums or outdoors enjoying nature.
After Wind Phone is inspired by the original wind phone in Japan, created by Itaru Sasuki when grieving the death of his cousin. Originally installed in his garden as a way for him to speak with his cousin in a way that wasn’t connected via “earthly means”, Itaru opened the phone to the public after the devastating 2011 tsunami struck Japan. Thousands of people were killed or missing, leaving behind even more grieving loved ones, and Itaru hoped the phone would help them to cope with the loss as it had him.
The death of a loved one can feel like the severing of a connection- grief is love with nowhere to go. Things are often left unspoken in the vacuum of loss. This space acts as a shrine to lost loved ones- somewhere to have the conversations left unfinished, to update someone you’ve lost on the life events they’ve missed out on since they’ve been gone, to just tell them you miss them. The phone is a physical conduit between the living and the dead- carrying these conversations to them not through phone lines or other physical means, but on the wind.
After Wind Phone gives participants the option to record a voicemail of their message if they wish.
Photo Credit: submitted and used with permission of the artist. (c) Emma Landwerlen
To learn more about the original Wind Phone, by Itaru Sasaki check out this Wikipedia article.
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