The Sound of
a Memory Bank
ART INSTALLATION // SOUND DESIGN // VISUAL PROJECTION
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT // PRINT DESIGN // VISUAL ARTS
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Transmedia Design // Art Installation
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Berlin, Germany
** Project developed at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences during the ‘Hybrid Media’ Module in the M.A. New Media Design Program. -
Exhibited at Transcoporeal at Catalyst, Berlin
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Adobe Photoshop
Touch Designer
Ableton
Sonic Pi
Sketchup
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This journey explores the transient nature of life by creating a space for memories beyond the physical body, through an artistic audiovisual installation.
Our body is an empty vessel that collects, stores memories and experiences until we pass away. But what happens to these memories after? What happens after the body? What remains?
The interactive installation explores body as data- to preserve, and hear decoded memories, through a distinctly crafted code (a new sound).
The Memory Cloud captures the bio-impulses of the body and transforms them into a sound wave. This sound (new data) represents an abstraction of one’s memory.
The audience were prompted through postcards to leave a memory behind, by simply following these steps -
1. Spot our Memory Cloud (no it's not edible)2. Gently place your hands on the sensors (marked in black circles)
3. Think about the memory prompt on the postcard in your hand
4. Through the headphones, hear your memory
At the intersection of translated memories from the past and a unique sound (new data), the memory bank creates a new space where memories become immortal, and body becomes data.
Image manipulation & digital collage techniques were used to create the abstract artworks that represent different prompts presented at the installation.
The images used are sourced from Unsplash, and some are photographs taken in Berlin, Germany.
These digital collages/montages were then treated on Adobe Photoshop, overlaying various textures and film overlays to give them an analog look.
Entering the sonic realm of the bank, we recorded our voices in four dialects—Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, and Russian—to symbolize memories of past experiences.
These recordings were decoded as a metaphor for how memories fade over time. Using Sonic Pi’s generative sound and randomness, we processed the audio to distort and obscure the original voices, creating a unique code to preserve them indefinitely.
The Sonic Pi composition featured glitch effects, a Glitched Voice Layer, randomized parameters with LFO-modulated reverb, and ambient synths in C2 minor for a hollow, ambient soundscape.
The Memory Cloud.
The sensor that detects bio-data via touch.
The name was inspired by its cloud-like appearance and is also a metaphor for the cloud storage system that we use to store all sorts of data universally.
The Memory Cloud captures the bio-impulses of the body and transforms them into a sound wave.
This sound (data) represents an abstraction of one’s memory.
Untouched, the screen visuals were programmed to remain in a constant state of noise and movement, resembling water.
This signified the fluidity of memories, illustrating their continuous ebb and flow, and their infinite circulation in space.
When one touched the cloud (sensor) and reflected on the memory prompts on the postcard, their bio-impulses stabilized the visuals. The artwork, representing fragments of memory, then slowly began to appear.
This represented connection and the memories of an individual journeying into an abstract realm.
SPATIAL SETUP
