TAMOJI's story
Logan Miller /// May 03, 2022 /// Portfolio Vol. 1
The defining aspect of Tamoji’s Story is to explore a Watcher’s interpretation of the physical shape of a dream. A doctrine of storytelling, this work of imagination is separated into two distinct sections: one grounded in the material realm, and the other an emotional translation from a child’s mind. Tamoji’s Story follows the impassioned efforts of a young boy attempting to understand the seemingly foreign environment around him. In this way, he struggles to combine his veiled past with a hypothetical future, thereby conceiving a reality born from the unknown and the curious.
Partnered with 826 LA, a youth charity agency, Tamoji’s Story is a realistic take at providing a space for children to develop their creative identities and writing skills. I believe in this project as the mind of a child is pure, and with gentle guidance it can produce beautiful dreams that can shape the future of humanity.
1. RESEARCH
Map of Los Angeles
Tamoji's Story began as a research project regarding the economical ebbs and flows of the greater Los Angeles area. Tamoji's Observations is a literary work that explores some of these core concepts, as well as laying the foundational premise for what it means to let the mind wander and explore the conceptual limits of an individual's consciousness.
2. Philanthropical writing center
Exterior Dreamatory Perspective
Tamoji's Desk
Dreamatory Section
Elysian Hill Site Plan
The premise of Tamoji's Story was to create an environment for the youth of Los Angeles, designed to provide a space full of inspiration and creativity. A small 5,000 square foot building, comprised of repurposed steel and timber, rests at the peak of Elysian Park, the forgotten stepchild of natural areas in the Los Angeles area, often overshadowed by the bigger and more popular Echo Park. However, Elysian Park is an optimal site for this project due to the natural support of visual memories that Angel Point is able to provide by overlooking downtown LA. Partnered with 826 LA, the concept for Elysian Park's dreamatorium supports as many thirty children and ten chaperones. A space built to provide a positive learning environment and get the most out of each individual child's mind.
3. In the mind of a child
Exterior Pod Perspective (2042)
Seven Letters Perspective (2117)
The Watch Perspective (2042)
Dream Takers Banner
Tamoji no Machi
Moon Rakers Banner
Fu no Machi
Tamoji's Letters
The second half of this project is centered on Tamoji's interpretation of the world around him. A young Japanese boy thrust into a foreign environment, alone. His drawings are his way of visualizing the city, Elysian Hill's dreamatory, as well as a series of cryptic letters from his parents back in Japan. The world that we live in is difficult to understand, even more so for a child without the aid of his parents. However, the mind is a beautiful place, and Tamoji was able to find peace through his creative writing.