Memories Revised
2016. wearable gadget and digital memories archive. EEG headset, 360 camera, custom software, PC, VR headset
*idea emerged through conversation with prof. Lee Montgomery and Claudia X Valdez at the University of New Mexico during my CEC ArtsLink residency there.
“Memories Revised” addresses the notorious obsession to capture all our experiences, which is usually followed by a withdrawal of the experience itself.
Usually, when you experience something that you would like to share with your friends or save as a memory you have to grab your smartphone, open camera app and then take some pictures. Suppose the thing is still there, you have not missed it and successfully captured your footage, instead of enjoying that moment. Now you have a 2 dimensional pixel array, or a sequence of them together with poor sound.
Is it a fair representation of that experience? Would you get more of that moment if you would not spend time on capturing it?
Memories Revised is a wearable gadget, which combines EEG headset and a spherical camera. EEG data is interpreted into excitement and engagement metrics, when these two reach certain threshold camera starts shooting, therefore automatically capturing your most exciting and engaging moments. You don't have to look aside for your camera - just let yourself be engaged and excited and all the capturing routine happens automatically on the background. As far as the camera is a spherical one, it captures all the environment around you, so that later you or anyone else can literally dive back into that moment using VR headset.
For the reasons of technical limitations and social non-acceptability of such a gadget, it is located somewhere inbetween science, fiction and commercial product, where I see a perfect place for an artistic intervention.