Vessels of Memory
When: Spring 2024
What: Algorithmic art project for Stanford University ARTSTUDI 163: Drawing With Code
Medium: Art installation
Tools: Processing, Python, laser cutter, projector
In the previous project Pillars of Memory, I explored the delicate nature of our digital photographs—those fleeting, intangible records of our lives, compressed into binary strings. With Vessels of Memory, I take that concept a step further, pulling those memories out of the digital ether and giving them form—solid, heavy, and undeniably physical.
The Process
This time, memories are engraved onto acrylic squares. Each photograph is first converted into a binary string, and those bits are etched into the surface of the acrylic using a laser cutter. The squares are then layered and screwed together to form cubic “vessels” of memory.
These cubes stand in stark contrast to the original image on a screen. What was once a fluid, intangible moment is now an object you can hold—a weighty, solid block. Yet, like before, the memory within is utterly unrecognizable.
However, the memory is still there, preserved perfectly within the material. If one were to painstakingly compile the entire bitstring from each acrylic layer, they could reconstruct the original photo—a process that mirrors the fragility of digital preservation, now made physically inaccessible.
Above: Laser cutter pattern for assembling a single memory cube.
The Installation
As part of the project installation, I wanted to emphasize the preciousness of these memories. I placed the cubes on a pedestal, shining a projector light underneath them. The light glints and dances through the layers, creating a shimmering effect, like diamonds on display. Memories, after all, are treasures, even when their form becomes unrecognizable.
In a final touch, I also projected a slideshow of the original, compressed photos across the cubes, using the colors and light to move through the layers, creating an interplay between the digital and the physical—a reminder that even though these memories are transformed, their essence remains.
