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Illumination: A Junior Design Student Conceptual Project by Melissa Pinkner (2017)

In my photograph, the keys represent responsibility and the cake gratitude. One can see how the light from the candles highlights the metal keys. The positioning of the cake so that the viewer can see the layers shows that there’s more depth to gratitude than simply showing thanks. When someone is in a position of showing gratitude, they are accountable for their actions, and if someone is not ready for these new responsibilities, it can cause a lot of harm. This relationship between the two in shown by the candles’ ability to heat up the metal keys, making them untouchable.

The concept behind my photograph explores how age relates to gratitude and managing responsibilities, represented through a birthday cake. Growing up comes with a lot of new privileges, which I chose to show by wrapping the birthday cake like a present. The responsibilities that come with age can be a gift for some, but they can also be a great burden. As kids get older, a common rite is to receive their own keys to the house, a big change in a kid’s life in terms of their responsibilities. The keys decorating the cake in my photo are representative of this new level of responsibility. It is something to both be grateful for and careful with so as to not get “burned.”
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