Methods Overview
/ Abstract
/ Introduction
/ Contextual Review
/ Attachments to Objects
/ Storytelling in Objects
/ Digitalisation of Collections
/ Methods Overview
/ Memory Objectification
/ Conclusion
/ Bibliography
Exploring attachments to objects, storytelling in objects and digitalisation of collections through analytical approaches of scholarly and inquiring into current practioners work allowed research to become a base for my design project. Analysing scholarly texts provided perspectives of sentimental value, memory linkage and object attachments bringing focus to autobiographical memories, and their contributions to personal identity alongside how institutional and personal collections have the capacity for storytelling in either analogue or digital forms.
The Powerhouse Museum’s structural system and digitalisation of the archival collection at an institutional level is proof of how valuing objects through time and maintaining analogue from despite technological involvements can generate collections with greater bestowed value for future individuals to learn about the past. Shapton’s publication of a relationship’s objects transforms archival cataloguing of collections into a narrative of romantic intimacy and eventual loss of what was whilst Wong’s visual documentation of their own projects’ development also reveals the instability of memory with the persistent presence of objects that later become invasive and harmful. Legardy’s demonstration of how persist emotional narratives can be even within technological metadata systems alongside Menjivar’s refrigerator based photographic series of the common object to expose the invisibility of emotional lives contained within both rely on audiences own collections to communicate their message.
For my design project the anticipated final project is of a digital based interactive experience in a game or object catalogue form. In either form, a dataset of object metadata will be kept and I aim to make the interaction with the data pleasant and enjoyable without the need of prior knowledge. It can be hypothetically encountered online as well as in physical settings like museum object navigation panels, game developer exhibitions and/or as a physical documentation of object metadata. The aimed audience for this work is individuals who are sentimental or nostalgic with their possessions, anyone who values emotional connections and their relationships, Indie game developers and consumers alongside dataset and exhibition enjoyers. Keeping on track with methods used and key concepts is benefited through constant reflection and notations in forms of Overview Maps. (see Figure 4)
Collecting more object data is first priority in order to have a data supported project that will later have a visualisation. I will be exploring more examples of similar exhibitions and museum collections of a similar nature in form or purpose. What I have gathered so far from my own items, participant workshops and google forms has created a good ground for confidence in the existence that memories can be objectified. Workshop as Practice introduce by Thea Kable generated the
most realistic and valuable object data so future utilisation is realistic with the inclusion of a participant consent form and having the object data available for the final project or future studies. A zine form for this or a object photograph submission like ‘Important Artifacts by Leanne Shapton’ is undecided. I feel confident in my direction, but time will be my biggest concern with synthesising data as advised by Thea.
(Illustrated by author, 2026)
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