Knick Knacks and Doodads are Autobiographical
/ Abstract
/ Introduction
/ Contextual Review
/ Attachments to Objects
/ Storytelling in Objects
/ Digitalisation of Collections
/ Methods Overview
/ Memory Objectification
/ Conclusion
/ Bibliography
Memories are personal collections of past events, and everyone has their own exhibition of experiences that can fade over time. By collecting objects to represent these life moments and memories, it becomes easier to relive them. Life is fleeting and can be unfair, so it’s important for everyone to value what or who you have in your life while they are still present. Each object may not seem to be worthy of being in a museum in the present day, but they can still hold value to the person and will eventually become artifacts of the ‘past’ as time continues forwards.
Archival collections of personal objects visualise how objects can be bestowed with value and have attachments to experiences, memories, relationships, and emotions. Institutional museums are built upon large collections of objects that once belonged to people just like us. Despite being a victim to time passing, these people’s objects and memories are continued to be valued and deemed worth keeping and maintaining over time. Artists and Designers alike portray these through cataloguing systems, object led narratives, or with archival aesthetics to communicate the value in objects with more than the materialistic artifacts themselves. This practice is carried across to a smaller scale as individuals curate collections of objects built off sentimentalities, memories, and lifetimes of storytelling.
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