Many Tellings
PERSONAL PROJECT
This project takes inspiration from nine conceptual models of multiverses or parallel universes as described by Columbia Physicist Brian Greene and uses each model as an opportunity to reimagine a classic folk tale or story from oral tradition.
Most American kids have heard the story of John Henry, “the steel drivin’ man,” who won a race against a mechanical steam drill (and the inevitable advance of technology), only to die of exhaustion at the moment of victory. His story has been turned into a tall tale that is repeated in folk songs, storybooks, and cartoons. He is a potent symbol of anti-industrialist labor movements and a bedtime story, as well as probably, once, a real human being. His story exists simultaneously in all these forms, and further multiplies every time it is repeated, with a slightly different wording or the different understanding that a listener’s personal experience might bring to the old story. In a way, each of these small iterations creates a parallel universe of the story, with small or large changes from the original source.
Each figure in this book demonstrate how these models of the structure of time and space might affect nine familiar stories from around the world. We know that a story can change over time, but what if time and space could change around a story?
2020
