Catalyst
Analyzing the Evolution of Morality in Two Opposites Through Breaking Bad
What is the catalyst of everything that led you here?
This loaded question is what my graphic design studio partner, Michael Blackwell, and I sought to answer through one of our favorite television shows — Breaking Bad — and its two main protagonists, Jesse Pinkman and Walter White. We were tasked with analyzing the narrative structure of both plot and story to better understand how they interplay between characters in vastly different ways. From there, we translated our research into a spatial, installation-based exhibition housed in Boston University’s 808 Commonwealth building.
Before the installation even found its location, we dove back into Albuquerque, New Mexico’s most famous story. For Michael and me, it had been some time since we last watched Breaking Bad, yet we remembered it as if we had just finished applauding its finale. Stories of a good man descending into villainy are not new, but they are rarely executed with this level of care and precision. Like the show’s writers, we wanted our exhibit to echo that same grand vision.
Looking back, we methodically extracted the core themes of the groundbreaking series and found a powerful duality — not only in Walter White’s widely recognized descent into a murderous crime lord, but also in Jesse’s inverse journey. Walter embodies themes of ego, pride, and a lust for power, while Jesse’s arc reveals a quieter rise toward redemption, kindness, and a search for clarity and freedom. His growth persists, even as it is suffocated by the darkness surrounding him.
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As we discussed how best to approach the exhibition and convey this duality, we settled on combining multiple visual elements to create a cohesive, immersive experience. We knew we would need a significant amount of space. We quickly identified an ideal location in the studio and began constructing from the simple framework of two unoccupied L-shaped desks and the glass wall facing the hallway.
Using the desks’ corkboard walls as our backdrop, we began structuring a narrow slice of the camper van interior — the space where Jesse and Walter’s stories intertwine and are forever changed. We divided tasks: Michael designed the corkboard background, creating a desert landscape visible through a camper window, while I focused on painting a miniature 3D model of the van to be displayed on a pedestal outside the glass wall.
Using acrylic paint, I carefully mixed and color-matched tones to recreate the camper van from Season 1, even including the bullet holes in its door. As we continued building the installation, we sourced and crafted props to fully realize the interior, ensuring it reflected the chemistry and tension of the show. Once the space was complete, we filmed confessional-style videos of Walter and Jesse across three stages of the story — beginning, middle, and end — to capture their evolution. Through cosplay, improvised acting, and some assistance with makeup for the bald cap and scars, we gathered the raw footage that I later edited into an archival-style video to be played on a television centered within the exhibit.
With curtains wired, hung, and drawn to enclose the space, Michael’s infographic posters were installed on the exterior glass wall, highlighting key moments of Walter’s descent and Jesse’s ascent.
The final physical element was the pedestal. We constructed it using transparent acrylic panels, hot-glued into three stacked boxes at varying angles. At the top sat the 3D camper van model, while inside the upper box we placed small bags of homemade blue rock candy for viewers to take. This served as a nod to Walter’s chemically perfected blue meth — his obsession, pride, and legacy.
Inside the lower two boxes, we created a collaborative piece recreating the iconic bathtub scene, in which acid dissolves a body and crashes through the floor. The bottom box was splattered with simulated “blood,” “guts,” and debris, while the upper box revealed the bathroom floor and its corroded-away opening, visible from top to bottom.
With everything complete, the final step was presenting our work to our peers and Professor James Grady. When it was our turn, we asked for five minutes to prepare. During that time, we stepped into our yellow hazmat suits, complete with gas masks, goggles, and gloves, becoming part of the installation itself.
When the audience returned, the edited confessional video began playing on the central television. As it played, we broke apart, scooped, and bagged fresh sheets of homemade blue rock candy. As the video concluded with the crackle of simulated VHS static, we finalized an exhibition that sought to mirror the depth of its source material. By engaging visual, auditory, and even taste elements, we created an experience that explored how a person evolves through circumstance — for better or for worse.
