Finding Light Through Darkness

A Memorial for Orange County Crime Victims

Orange County, California | 2013 | Competition

A pencil drawing

Something can be erased

Like memory

Sometimes we just want to forget

Forget the darkness we have been through

The light pierces through from above

Opens the door to unknown terra

Guides us through the journey to

Our past, present and future

We move

We understand

We adapt

We find inner peace

With the rest of the world

Finding Light Through Darkness is a journey that brings people into an emotional and physical space where the prosaic world gradually slips away and contemplation about the past and aspirations for the future begins. The journey begins at a path that guides visitors below grade. As one descends along this path the noise of everyday life becomes muted. Surrounded by earth and separated from the ordinary realm, visitors are encouraged to look within themselves to reflect and ruminate. Individual, group meditation and light rooms will be the beacons that light the path and provide spaces for contemplation and discovery. Being in these rooms, like being on the path, one would be rooted in the earth but looking up and ahead towards the light of the future. At the end of the journey one gradually emerges from the protection of the earth into the light of the Rotunda. The Rotunda is a large, open gathering space where visitors can interact with each other and hopefully reengage with the world at peace.