Disgrace

by J. M. Coetzee
Project by Joanne Yao
Partnered with Chelsea Hyduk

“[The design] conveys the progression and mind of the protagonist David Lurie … A South African college professor who is fired after he refuses to apologize for raping a student, Mr. Lurie endures a series of traumatic events (represented by the knife-like cuts) which produce temporary changes in his perception, but he continues to believe that women have a natural responsibility to excite and bear male passion. His path zigzags, but change is illusory because it is headed in the same direction. At the end of “Disgrace,” Mr. Lurie’s new ability to relate to women as fully human is represented by the waterfall at the path’s end, which allows the visitor to glimpse his reflection below for an instant before the water flows away.”

Columbia University