Almost Home 2023
When I’m walking home at night in the dark, I hold my key so it sticks out between my first and second finger in case I need to hit out at somebody.
I stand up straight and tall, and put my hood up if I have one, so that from behind, it’s less obvious that I’m a woman.
I check reflections in the windows of shops and cars to see if there’s anyone walking behind me.
I cross the street if I see someone walking towards me that I feel unsure about.
Almost Home is a short 8 minute virtual reality experience created with Miss Represented for International Women’s day 2023 and shown at Brighton Dome. Over several weeks, Maf’j worked with Kassia Zermon (aka Bunty Looping) and the young women, exploring the the subject of how it feels as a woman to walk home in the dark. The short piece allows the viewer to feel immersed in the stories narrated by the women as you walk around the small inner courtyard of a residential estate and takes you past their houses and through the park in the middle where it slowly becomes night time. As the shadows roll over the space, the stories and images displayed in the houses change.
Contact me on mafj@rootinteractive.com to request access to the project for sideloading onto the Meta Quest.