Precedents:
At the start of my research, I became interested in the idea of the brain and memory encoding, after viewing the projects of Soohyun Park and Phillip Stearns. Even though both artists projects have different themes they focus on, they visualize memories and experiences in fascinating and beautiful processes. After looking into their projects more deeply, I decided, I wanted to combine the encoding process of memories, with a visual and captivating display, that stimulates and augments the user's memories. My work has always had a tendency to be abstract because I believe that the simplest things in life, can have the most complex questions attached to them, and this is especially true of the brain and how we perceive it and ourselves. Being an Intelligent Environments minor, I found myself looking at this prosthetic as how it would impact environments where the person goes, and that is also why I want to explore the power of sensory and tactile feedback, in recalling or intensifying memories. What mostly drove me to pursue this project was when my notion that our memories are always there and never change was disrupted. I wanted to have full control over my memories, and not alter them every time I revisit one, I would want the opposite effect, to intensify them. Also after looking at the Stanford CharmLab project of the deformable surface haptic displays, I wanted to add a tactile aspect to my object that could change shapes. It made me wonder if such a surface would make the user feel more in control of the device if they are able to alter its shape?