MEMORY CAPSULES

2024

RISD MID 2024

Instructors: Jess Brown & Peter YeadonMaterials: unknown
Project “Memory capsules” introduces five sensory artifacts—taste, smell, hearing, touch, and sight. Each serves as a tool for memory collection, encouraging users to step away from digital habits. Instead of defaulting to photos or videos, individuals decide which sense best captures a memory and use the corresponding artifact. This process promotes mindfulness and a deeper connection to the moment. Sharing these sensory-based memories invites others to interpret them in their own way, sparking new conversations and perspectives.

Note: Each capsule can store only one memory, which it holds forever, no matter how many times the memory is released

Before smartphones and digital records, memories were preserved through oral storytelling—filtered by emotion, significance, and the natural limitations of human memory. These retellings, shaped by the storyteller’s perspective, conveyed the essence of moments, transforming and adapting with each recounting. Memories were alive, dynamic, and personal.

In the digital age, we rely less on our internal memory. Every moment, meaningful or trivial, is stored externally - photos, notes, and videos - without the natural filtering of time. Unlike the curated memory boxes of the past, holding only treasured artefacts, our devices collect countless images and recordings, often forgotten and overwhelming.

How do they work?

Sight:
Look through the artefact’s small hole and rotate to absorb the visuals of a memory. Tiny insight bubbles capture these visuals. To release the captured sight, look through another hole where the visuals appear as miniature universes, encapsulating the memory.

Capturing the most beautiful moment of the day

Hearing:
Place the artifact in your ear and tap your fingers to capture surrounding sounds. To release the sound, rotate the object and listen through its larger radius.

My favourite sound of the winter season

Smell:
Rotate the artefact to capture a specific scent. To release the captured scent, shake or tap the artefact to release it back into the air.
Dad captures the smell of his newborn child

Taste:

Use the taste-capturing spoon to capture the flavour of anything that touches its handle. To release the taste, try to eat something with this spoon; the flavour will change with the first bite.
Capturing the taste of the worst childhood soup

Touch:
Brush the artefact over a texture to capture its feel in a transparent bowl. To release the captured texture, place your finger in the centre of the bowl to experience the memory of the texture.
My friend captures her cat’s fur