A Virtual Depository for Mementos is a web-based project that exhibits a collection of donated objects and their associated stories. Objects often act as catalysts for memories of the past. This project suggests that a photograph of an object can provide that same effect, allowing people to substitute their physical possessions for photographed representations of them.

 

I collected objects that people had purchased five or more years ago. After donating their object, people were asked to fill out a questionnaire indicating when, where and why they had purchased the item as well as a history or story about it. I gathered over fifty objects, which I photographed in the studio on a white background. In this way, the object would float as a three-dimensional object on the screen, unbound from a frame. The website was built as a virtual space for the objects and stories to live – releasing the donor from their object’s physical existence. 

 

As an installation, guests are confronted by a theatre set of a domestic office space where they are invited to sit at a desk and navigate the website on a desktop computer. This cheekily suggests the location and context for viewing the website outside the presentation space. A small gift shop in the space and online helps to promote the project and create a lasting impression on the viewers.

 

The website creates an awareness of consumer culture and encourages more thoughtful consumption in the future. It also provides an interactive way to organize objects and memories virtually. 

​

 

​

​

​