Memory Bulb, Winter 2012
Materials: Brass, Silver
Processes: Fabrication, smithing
Driving down a country road can be a most ordinary experience. However in the film Everything is Illuminated main character Jonathan Safran Foer experiences key events while travelling the roads of the Ukrainian country in during his ‘rigid search’ for Trachimbrod. I have showcased a rural road scenewithin an old style car headlight bulb. The scene represents the road in the film yet is ambiguous enough to be open for personal interpretation. The form lets in the light as if the sun or moon is shining between the tree canopies that line the road of the enclosed installation. Depending on how one interacts with the object, the scene changes. At different angles, the light filters in through the tree canopy in different intensities and traces the movement in the reflected light. Also, by examining the object quite close to the eye, the perception of what is inside is in improved or reduced focus depending on proximity. These factors created via interaction gesture to the quality of memory storage being fragmented across different centres of the brain. These centres receive a trigger and connect the forgotten pieces together.
The light bulb installation references the description in the film of how everything is illuminated in the light of the past. Stimulus may trigger a memory to surface that becomes clearer and more detailed upon further thought. Alternatively, it may be acknowledged as cloudy and missing information upon which the individual may try to purposely trigger related memories to fill in the blanks. For example, the grandfather’s memory was triggered while driving in the country; the landscape reminded him of his experiences and details emerged that were not complete. Jonathan’s memory may be triggered back to his Ukrainian adventure by any tree-lined roads he encounters in the future; one can create unique meaningful and detailed memories even for non-descript spaces. Similarly, this object can trigger the unique memories of each person who interacts with it.
Materials: Brass, Silver
Processes: Fabrication, smithing
Driving down a country road can be a most ordinary experience. However in the film Everything is Illuminated main character Jonathan Safran Foer experiences key events while travelling the roads of the Ukrainian country in during his ‘rigid search’ for Trachimbrod. I have showcased a rural road scenewithin an old style car headlight bulb. The scene represents the road in the film yet is ambiguous enough to be open for personal interpretation. The form lets in the light as if the sun or moon is shining between the tree canopies that line the road of the enclosed installation. Depending on how one interacts with the object, the scene changes. At different angles, the light filters in through the tree canopy in different intensities and traces the movement in the reflected light. Also, by examining the object quite close to the eye, the perception of what is inside is in improved or reduced focus depending on proximity. These factors created via interaction gesture to the quality of memory storage being fragmented across different centres of the brain. These centres receive a trigger and connect the forgotten pieces together.
The light bulb installation references the description in the film of how everything is illuminated in the light of the past. Stimulus may trigger a memory to surface that becomes clearer and more detailed upon further thought. Alternatively, it may be acknowledged as cloudy and missing information upon which the individual may try to purposely trigger related memories to fill in the blanks. For example, the grandfather’s memory was triggered while driving in the country; the landscape reminded him of his experiences and details emerged that were not complete. Jonathan’s memory may be triggered back to his Ukrainian adventure by any tree-lined roads he encounters in the future; one can create unique meaningful and detailed memories even for non-descript spaces. Similarly, this object can trigger the unique memories of each person who interacts with it.
