Our stories and passions bring us together.

At a time when young people are witnessing the disastrous effects of COVID-19 play out in their communities while physically isolated from peers, educational institutions and other support systems, storytelling and magic is an opportunity for me to exercise how can I bring a positive change by responding to the current circumstances. As COVID-19 continues to change the way we move through our daily lives, I though this is the perfect time to find a new outlet for whatever your imaginations come up with. The world we know looks different, so it follows that the way we visualize our new realities must also shift.

I believe that stories are vital to our collective well-being. Stories have the ability to connect us, to create empathy, and engender a sense of community and belonging. The world is (still) on pause and in this moment of crisis, the world needs storytelling more than ever.

Our ability to drive change will depend in part on our ability to communicate in effective ways, harnessing the power of stories and art. The emergency has shown that the right information delivered in the right way can prompt people to change their individual behaviours.

Scope

  • Magic
  • Mail Art
  • Design
  • Concept

Challenge

I challenged myself to create a magic piece considering circumstances and various disruptions caused by COVID-19 and where I would be able to bring people together and spread the sense of wonder for ones who are in self-isolation.

My Solution

PostCard

A long distance immersive magical experience for the ones who are away.

Method

Mail Art – I took the simplest magic trick, guessing a selected playing card and found a way to make it immersive and accomplish it in a long distance, over the mail.

Approach

Back in a day, written letters were the most authentic way people communicated and shared stories – tender memories, love letters. A simple written letter was the most genuine way to capture the sensation of a particular meaningful and emotional experience. That is how I wanted my magic to be.

I send a package through a post mail to a friend.
The package contains a personal letter, an unsealed new deck of playing cards, a set of instructions and a prepaid envelope. The letter explains my story and reflections during the self-isolation and why I have decided to do this.
So the participant remembers a random playing card from the deck, puts back into prepaid envelope and sends the cards back to me from the nearest post office. I respond back with the selection.

I respond back with the selection

If I guess it right, which I usually do, I ask the participant to share an interesting story or a reflection during the self-quarantine using the web interface.