When I was a kid we had this underwater deep sea creature puzzle. We'd assemble it on the floor and connect pieces deeper and deeper below the surface. That puzzle is what this pokemon aquarium reminds me off. I have this vision to make a frutiger aero underwater aquarium bathroom. I've been very aware of how my memories form my tastes, whether conciously or not. My grandparents had 2 ocean themed bathrooms in the house I grew up in. In fact my grandpa still has those 2 bathrooms. Nothing much has changed there since my grandma passed 5 years ago, just her office used as storage and my old room gutted for college life. I love those little antibacterial soap bottles with the fish and coral living in the goo. I also loved mermaids as a kid. There's something so magical about being underwater. It's another dimension. Maybe the fact that we're made of water makes it like some kind of homecoming to ourselves. Surrounded by life, surrounded by death. My graduation speaker talked about water. Moreso rivers. My grandma wasn't there in body but I know she held me in that moment. We are still moving through the same river, made from the same mountain, submerged in the same ocean. I got a big handmade valentine from my grandparents one year. I'm not sure who drew them in restrospect. A purple heart with mermaid dora in the center. I loved her. I still do. Maybe to be in a aquarium is be to feel safe. Your own little tank contained within life's larger waters. The best part of an aquarium is to feel like you're part of some small world contained just beyond your reach. I realized I want to be the girl in the aquarium. Nemo took up a lot of space in my brain as a kid too. I never watched it and it still haunted me. I've always been sensitive to the world. That is a gift. It doesn't always feel like it.