Sam Hicks – Master of Fine Arts, Pacific Northwest College of Art

I am building worlds in 3D and bringing them to life through augmented reality. I want to create imaginative future spaces for queer and trans people who don’t often find safety and acceptance in their current reality. These spaces are abstract and have nods to objects from spaces in my life where I have felt joy. I want people to be able to take something from these spaces with them on their journey so I have created blankets that come from a place of care and community and the transfer of care and community through the object. Through the use of 3D software and Augmented Reality these images and blankets become portals to the imagined future spaces. I chose blankets because they are physical symbols of comfort and care. Blankets are warmth, they are shelter, they are comfort, they are a moment of calm in a hectic day. They represent care and love for they wrap around you like a hug. But these are no ordinary blankets, they are a portal to another world.