Adult Life Lab

Adult Life Lab (2022 – present) is an ongoing installation and film project: a lab where real people bring their real problems into a fictional world and test inventions on screen and in the room. Over 100 people in Turku, Finland, and Rome, Georgia, have joined so far.

Installations
In installations, the lab moves into the room. One set of screens shows film of real people joining the lab and testing the inventions. A second wall plays black-and-white CCTV footage of people recreating everyday adult challenges. The inventions sit on pedestals, and visitors put on lab coats to become the researchers.

The Film
Henry, who has never entirely adjusted to adult life, finds company with three co-workers with the same challenges. Together, they form a ‘laboratory’ that invents mostly failing devices to solve their everyday problems, but all they need is one to succeed.

The short film involved many first-time cast and crew members, along with local organizations in Turku, Finland (Hacklab Turku, Ekotori, Ullrike Artisan Felt and Yarn) and Magic Film Company in Atlanta, who partnered with film professionals to bring the story to life. It mixes live-action footage with 2D animation and archival drawings from Henry’s invention journal.