Danny Ramirez

Bedtime Cones:  A safety zone can be the comfort of our home or a place of solitude deep in our subconscious. As children we find safety in the arms of our parents or guardians, but as we become adults these safety zones become more scarce. Naturally we begin to create other safety zones in order to diffuse life's most demanding obstacles. Even though everyone is unique, each of us needs a safety zone simply to sustain our humanity. The safety cone is used to crop-off a segment of the street during construction. The cones purpose, to keep the everyday citizen away from a specific area while maintaining their safety. In this installation the safety cones will serve this same purpose, but instead of cropping-off an area they will be used as a protective enclosure. The pod's space will be utilized as shown in the illustration above. The interior lining walls of the pod will be covered with the safety cones. At the center of the pod a miniature bed will be installed. This Miniature bed with mix-media sculpture will become the focal point of the installation. I believe that the act of sleeping is a universal safety zone. We surrender ourselves to our beds at the end of each day. Our daytime attire is removed like a knights armor after a long day in battle. Our combat daytime clothes are then replaced with more suitable sleep wear further enhancing our sleeping experience. This daily ritual before sleep is preformed by mostly everyone. During sleep our daytime defensive walls are replaced with pillows and blankets. We are relaxed and our minds venture to distinct places far away from our complex life. We regenerate ourselves in this safety zone. This young female sleeping in the bed represents society. She is in the REM phase of her sleep. I've decided to use a young female figure in the installation since a young girl seems more helpless to the outside world. The safety cones surrounding the girl will keep her safe and will act as a membrane protecting her like a fetus in the womb. [Content provided  by Danny Ramirez]