Academic Project
Individual Project
2022 Fall
Read the Press
Beyond interpreting memories with fragrance, can we narrate them with touch?
Emotions formed by the interplay of love, hate, and desire make us human and give value to memory - our past makes us who we are now.
Human interactions have created culture, and culture changes through time. "In essence, the world is made up of what we infuse and strip away." In the material culture, we are constantly interpreting objects, creating value for them so that they no longer have only an exchange value but can tell our stories since they are embedded with our memories, representing their tangible interfaces.
The different textures of objects give them additional functions and bring different feelings, experiences, and memories to their users. The materials and textures of things are often overlooked, but they are unconsciously imprinted in the memory.
Wall, as an artifact, its material, manufacturing method, texture, and history can be seen as a representation of culture. During their migration, the Hakka people united to defend themselves against enemies by building round houses with solid walls.
Today, the Hakka people have moved away, but the old round houses still stand in their original locations.
With time, some walls have collapsed, some have been repaired, and some have been given a new lease of life with moss and resilient organic matter.
The walls of the Hakka round house witness the life of the Hakka people in silence, and record all kinds of marks on the surface, forming traces.
To Summer is lunching experiments of innovative packaging: besides the smell, we will use the tactile experience to create a space of narrative through the materials and textures of artifacts, using touch to interpret unique personal histories, and evoking cultural memories. Moss and other forms of life can grow on the packaging, whose surface will change over time, generating new narratives and deepening emotional connections with the material over time.