My initial vision for this concept was to show the loss of a strong Bulgarian identity as time goes on. At first, I wanted to depict this with the projected population decline from 1989-2050 being 39%, and have that amount of triangles disappear. However, upon seeing the vaccination rates in the country being the lowest in Europe at a depressing 32.47 doses per 100 people, I wanted to show 70% of the country disappear, having the few remaining triangles highlight the fracturing resulting from the deaths and families unable to see each other, both abroad and internally.
However, as I began recreating the triangle piece and implemented horizontal mouse movement interactivity, I decided to shift how the artwork would express itself, and make it more personal to myself as well. I chose to make the country out of 11 triangles to highlight the intensity of 70% as a proportion (with larger triangles, more pieces would go ‘missing’, emulated via a fade out to grey as suggested by classmates). The country starts out as grey, bearing little resemblance to its self. When the user decides to interact with it, they’ll see small snippets of the country’s colors/flag, but only to see it appear 30% at a time and fade away quickly after.
This is supposed to emulate the experience that I, and many others around the world, have had when deciding to come back (either physically or educationally/culturally) to a dying country. Returning to such decay is upsetting, to say the least, but the only way to have it entirely fade away forever is choosing to not engage with the country, culture, and identity. By putting in the effort to search and interact with the piece, you are fighting to keep the country and its ancient roots in memory.
I have an opinion on the color saturation you used throughout the piece. Maybe increasing the saturation would further emphasize decay as having a very bright/striking red and green would contrast more heavily with its faded counterpart. The bright vs. dull would have a great difference when displaying a dramatic fade.
This is an extremely impactful piece that clearly demonstrates your message. The fact that no matter what, only 30% of the triangles are shown gives a desperate feeling of trying not to fade away.
I have an opinion on the shape of the piece. I find it very unique and recognizable when looking at it. I feel as if you went for a very abstract mold, but it works in favor of the data and message you are trying to communicate.
What is the significance of the use of triangles for the flag?
The shape of the triangles is meant to create an intense sense of fragmentation to better highlight the proportions of the rates.
In my opinion, the piece compliments the description very well. From the piece, I see it fading a lot and needing an inactive component in order to stay visible, and your description behind it covers many facets of why the piece is the way it is.
Looking at this piece I can immediately see that there is a country that is being split apart due to all the appearing and disappearing triangles.
I noticed how the different pieces faded away if you didn’t interact with them, it’s quite visually appealing!