Growing Up: Instructions Not Included
‘Growing Up: Instructions Not Included’ is a mixed-media spatial series exploring the humorous, messy journey of raising children and, by extension, ourselves. It captures the universal parenting paradox of the “long days and short years” – the desperate wish to reach a child’s next milestone, contrasted with a nostalgia for the fleeting phases of childhood they have already left behind.
While deeply rooted in the parental experience, the exhibition extends an open invitation to anyone who has ever been parented. It offers a playful, poignant space for viewers to connect with their inner child and reflect on the universal growing pains we all share. Moving beyond mere nostalgia, the collection draws on developmental psychology to frame this shared journey as an active opportunity for profound self-improvement.
Rather than viewing the passage of time as a loss, these works celebrate the messy business of life with relentless optimism. They frame our shifting identities, our mistakes, and the ongoing act of learning to communicate as a vibrant expansion of the self. Acting as an immersive archive of becoming, the exhibition features layered, conceptual wall works, a sculptural plinth piece, and a dynamic ceiling installation that physicalizes the sudden, shifting weather of childhood emotions.
Participants
IS Design Labs (Iliana Sergeev)Accessibility
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