Wish You Were Here Postcard Design Contest

View All Design Contest Submission on Flickr

Unique Limited Edition Artworks:

Yvonne Bellido

Debbie Lam

Megan Moriarty

Karen Tsugawa

Design for Community Contribution:

Olivia Garcia

Raymond Lam

Jason Nguyen

(Above)

Artist: Yvonne Bellido.

A collection of things I wanted to say but never did. I ask myself, "Where did the time go?" and I am waiting to see what will show up on my shore again. I know I will find my way back to it. But I am still left hoping for something and missing people that have left my shore. This small piece from my series is about my grandmother. She recently passed in August and things haven't been the same. I am lost and confused with life. I'm reminded of her- it's like catching little glimpses of her through memories and dreams. There are little parts on her in this piece now.

(Above)

Artist: Debbie Lam.

(Above)

Artist: Megan Moriarty.

When the COVID19 pandemic began to spread across the United States, I turned to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease’s Flickr account. I knew from previous experience that this would be where the United State’s federal research labs would share the first electron microscope images of the virus. In those early weeks, I was rewarded with colorized photos of our bodies at war and 3D structural models of a new enemy. As an artist, I searched every image for the turmoil of this moment— for what Wassily Kandinsky called the ‘klang’— and was left wanting. So, as I held onto the scientific scenes of an invisible war, I began to delve into the metaphysical crisis of a shared isolation. Alone in my basement, I created an abstract photographic series in which I imagined the microscopic landscapes of the human body as emotional and energized compositions. Using glass microscope slides and acrylic ink, I created boldly colored image plates and photographed them on a high resolution scanner. The resulting photos are expressive and abstract, while also hinting at the microscopic drama playing out within our bodies.

(Above)

Artist: Karen Tsugawa.

Postcard designed by envisioning as a collaboration between mediums, people, water, and time. These handmade postcards are shown with sewn front designs based on traditional Japanese patterns in Sashiko, with handmade paper and a hand sewn stamp.

(Above)

Artist: Olivia Garcia. This image is a result of my exploration of the idea of water acting as a natural mirror. I have mixed medias to display an imaginary world seen through the eyes of my younger self.

(Above)

Artist: Raymond Lam.

Inspired by the recent political turmoil in Hong Kong, Flower Respirator explores the imagery of and aesthetic fashions of protest. Respirator inspired by the protests in Hong Kong. Based on 3M respirators and their iconic pink filters. The flowers act as filters for this piece. Blend of militaristic and mechanical shapes contrasted with soft curves of flowers. Piece made primarily with polygons and subdivisions and manipulation of edges.

The imagery of the lotus flower and cherry blossoms represent the flag of the Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region. The respirator is iconic and a clear reference to the infamous rise of the 3M respirator to the global consciousness. The baseball bat and toppled barrier fences depict violence and struggle. 

The scene is set up in a way in which the respirator is almost a shrine - a symbol of struggle and freedom. Lead slugs from fired weapons impact onto an invisible forcefield, implying that this shrine and mask itself - is impervious. 

(Above)

Artist: Jason Nguyen.

This is a suit that projects the innermost feelings of the person wearing this suit. It projects the wearer’s chains, the thoughts that the person can not let go. It can be trauma from their childhood or memories that they can never forget, whatever it may be, the TV will tell the story by projecting whatever has been displayed in the media from news channels to commercials to cartoons. The body is also bounded when wearing the suit to create the sense of restriction, the feeling of no escape which is comparable to one’s feelings when handling trauma and unforgettable memories.

Unique Limited Edition Artworks:

Adrienne Defendi

Domenic DiSalvo

Becky Johnson

Eddson Jose

Sabrina Kwong

Kassandra Vargas

Design for Community Contribution:

Tamaki Fujino

Elaine Li

(Above)

Artist: Tamaki Fujino

This postcard transforms into a mask. For some people, a mask may have been the most annoying thing during this pandemic. However, it always stays closest to you and protects you. Family are the closest people to you but could be the most annoying ones. I designed this postcard thinking about my family in Japan. I have not seen my family for over two years. This postcard could go back to Japan for me, stay with them, and protect them but in the most annoying way. 
Yamaori (Mountain fold) and Taniori (Valley fold) lines are from Origami practice. When you repeat Yamaori and Taniori, you will make a bellow, which is suitable for a mask. The message on the Taniori area will be hidden after making folds. Therefore, you won't see the Japanese message. This is the representation of how my personality changes based on what language I am speaking and where I am. I tend to be shyer in Japanese especially when it comes to talking to my family. Japanese family usually never say "I miss you" or "I love you" to each other. Also, it is easy to say "thank you" via text when I am in the US, but it is hard to say in person when I go back to Japan.

(Above)

Artist: Elaine Li

This postcard was designed with the concept of social distancing in mind. In these tough times, I feel the urge to return to a simpler, more nostalgic time. This is an digital illustration on top of a photo I took years ago. It's a representation of how distant, but connected I feel with my friends and family whether they are an ocean away or right next door.

(Above)

Artist: Adrienne Defendi

I once found a little wren dead in my backyard and observed its decomposition over several days. I marveled how the bird was welcomed back to the earth with the help of water and time, and the industrious creatures that fed on its carcass. This image is part of a series that explores the cycle of life and death, each image is accompanied by a haiku. 

(Above)

Artist: Domenic DiSalvo

Around the world, people tell stories and legends of things that go bump in the dark. Something always unexplainable, unseeable, and unfindable. But what if these “monsters” are real, or rather, manifestations of inner human problems? Did they exist before us, or do they exist because of us? How come only few sightings exist, but not by the public eye? With postcards I emulate what a wildlife researcher would see if everyone were to see these “inner monsters”. (Photos taken at Hellyer Park)

(Above)

Artist: Becky Johnson

Basis of Sex is about the fragility of our democracy and the great power we’ve granted our court system to endow or take away our civil rights. The fragility of women’s rights are front of mind with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the impending appointment of Amy Coney Barrett. I chose a stereotypical feminine pastel pink palette to represent the uncertainty of a woman’s role in the world that will be defined by a Conservative court. I wanted the space to be beautiful at first but disquieting upon closer inspection. Symbols of our institutional strength are cracking or on rocky, uncertain ground. The rocky column on a fragile glass pedestal is placed to the right of center to represent the court moving to the right. On the far left wall, a 28 light installation represents birth control and a woman’s autonomy over her own body.  

I also wanted to evoke our climate emergency and the potentially catastrophic power the court has to alter climate policy. The orb represents our Mother Earth, overpopulated, and morphed into a toxic planet. For the scale of the orb, I was inspired by Andres Reiseinger proposal for a gallery show in which he uses a giant orb to create an uncomfortable experience for the viewer. I wanted to similarly create discomfort with the inescapable scale of this impregnated wall. There is a gallery bench placed uncomfortably close to the orb to represent the overwhelming scale and discomfort of the climate crisis.

(Above)

Artist: Eddson Jose

The Interpreter is a prosthetic for translating one’s thoughts and feelings directly to a participator’s five senses. The prosthetic is highly intrusive which requires trust and a sense of safety. The room size, the slight fog, the warm colors, and closeup shots serve to counteract the intrusive aspect of the prosthetic and provide a non threatening experience. 

The Interpreter arose from the frustrations I, and many artists, have in verbally explaining our thoughts, feelings, and visions. The prosthetic is also a result of social anxiety. Being able to express myself as I am is much easier in smaller and more intimate relations.

(Above)

Artist: Sabrina Kwong

Beams of Light beyond my screen is a visual letter to a shelter in place with a non-judgmental poetic gesture towards the unknown. There is a wonder being in the a new normal. During such a time, one can build oneself up before seeing the city again, this time, a transformation of oneself. 

(Above)
Artist: Kasandra Vargas

This photograph explores the ways in which we belong to our Earth and in doing so, uncovers the estrangement and disconnection humans have towards the Earth and its water ways.

View All Contest Submissions on Flickr.

Selected kiosk designer:

Ryan Yokono

Download Full Kiosk Design [pdf]

View All Kiosk Design Submissions

John Choi [pdf]

Clemente Rivas [pdf]