Intention

   Memory Island is a zen-garden inspired landscape for a forgetting ritual to nurture both a plant’s growth as well as one’s own growth from a difficult experience. A handwritten note recounting the negative memory is first slipped into the box. The device analyzes the memory and digitally projects the words over the leaves of the plant in the center. As the plants grows, the user can selectively delete words by trimming away the corresponding leaf. Eventually, the user will be left with a new memory, pruned of its negative aspects.

This ritual prompts a state of introspection and self reflection by allowing the user to actively engage with their memory in a calming, reflective environment. The incorporation of water is symbolic of renewal and cleansing. As the user waters the plant, it suggests the washing away of the old memory as well as the creation of new life. Similarly, pruning incorporates the cutting of dead or overgrown branches in order to increase fruitfulness and growth. Our project seeks to portray forgetting as the process of pruning and rewiring a memory into a more positive experience, so we may overcome and grow from our past.