Cocoon House
CocoonHouse, 2023, Web3 development, gathered memories, paper shredder, paper cocoons, museum tags, Arduino, receipt printer
Memories can often impede an individual's ability to move forward, leading to a state of emotional stagnation. Through the ritualistic process of creating depersonalized artifacts, the Cocoon House project aims to help individuals understand these emotions and their sources. The project encourages individuals to establish a new relationship with their memories, providing them with the knowledge and tools to navigate their emotions and memories in a way that allows for personal growth and development.
For exhibition, I obfuscated my identity as an artist and presented the project as an organized entity. I employed diverse visual, auditory, and interactive methods to enhance audience trust and engagement. To ensure confidentiality, I offered submission envelopes and secrecy stickers on-site to ensure a sense of safety for the viewers. My space had three walls and utilized a chair that could envelop and immerse the participant. Throughout my year of exploration, experimentation, and eventual exhibition, I transcended my identity as an artist to explore different perspectives in artistic expression and audience engagement.
Interactive Section
The audience can interact with the piece by writing their memories in the envelope and submitting it to the mailbox. Instructions are available on the wall and the guidebook.
Metamask/Javascript/HTML/Solidity/P5.js/Arduino
2023
3D Animation
A 3D animation loops while sound plays through headphones installed underneath. This video is an advertisement for the Cocoon House, explaining the concept and project goal.
I utilized Solidity to create smart contracts and employed JavaScript and HTML to build an interactive website for users. Metamask acted as the bridge for blockchain interaction, providing participants with a means of engagement. This approach allowed users to name their own cocoon on the website, which served as a message on the blockchain.
By integrating a switch with a paper shredder using P5.js, users uploaded their names and clicked on the button located on the right side of the website to trigger the shredding machine, disposing of their written memories. Furthermore, an Arduino-connected receipt printer was used to generate receipts for participants containing transaction numbers, timestamps, and names.
Case Display
Previous memories were shredded and constructed into cocoon shapes and labeled with the name of the participant. Staged beside each cocoon is a receipt for every memory.
The concept of a "web3 archive" is based on the idea that the web3 ecosystem operates as an autonomous world that exists independently from the physical world. By submitting personal memories to this digital realm, the memories become depersonalized from their owners and take on a life of their own. This process allows memories to be preserved and accessed in a unique way, creating a new kind of archive for the digital age.
Each cocoon in the collection represents a self-contained space for safe emotional exploration and growth. While only the cocoon's owner knows the content of the memory, visitors can witness the ritualistic process of its transformation.
HTML/ SHA-256/ Digital Archive
Website Interface
Inspiration & Concept
My works are based on the observation and feedback of human emotions entangled in current societal phenomena. Whenever I find myself deeply immersed in a certain mood, I observe that behind it inevitably lies the influence of the past. Humans, as entities, are shaped by countless memories; much like in Camus' novel The Stranger, memories allow for an outsider's observation on our subjective environment. As such, I contemplate whether the resulting thoughts, under the guise of detachment, are a comprehensive method to detach from a particular emotion. Through depersonalization, the induced emotions are no longer subjective, but objective.
Artworks Research
In the early stages of my creative process, I explicitly aspired to elicit a sense of engagement from the audience with sustainability in mind. I delved into research on transforming artworks into organizational endeavors, drawing inspiration from archival formats such as Future Library to ensure the longevity of the project and sustained audience participation. Similar to projects like The Morphotransverse Method, I packaged the artwork as an organization, meticulously outlining its structure and objectives.
The Stranger, Albert Camus
“And the more I thought about it, the more I dug out my memory things I had overlooked or forgotten. I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored. In a way, it was an advantage.”
Book Research
Exploration
Coding Process: Visual Studio Code
Coding Process: Arduino
Exploration Outcome
Open Submission
To bring this project to fruition, I conducted two offline open calls for submissions before its formal completion, gathering participants' experiences and feedback to influence the final presentation. Different individuals offered a vast array of diverse responses to the process; some participants, upon reorganizing memories and gaining detachment, expressed discomfort, noting an inability to control the emotions triggered by revisiting these memories. Conversely, one subject mentioned that a week after uploading her recollections, she found herself unable to recall the details of what she had written when revisiting her cocoon.
Coding Process: P5.js
Progress
During the Open Call process, I collected feedback and questions from participants to use in the subsequent development of the work. Some of this included:
Confusion about how the whole piece works
Reliability of the work
Concerns about privacy
Based on these three critiques, I chose to focus on visual presentation to minimize confusion for participants. My goal was to promote this project effectively and ensure engagement.
Development
Exhibition
During the "Cocoon House" exhibition, I addressed issues raised in the previous open submission by introducing novel elements to enhance audience comprehension and facilitate greater engagement by incorporating demonstrative video explanations and printed media with further details. To safeguard privacy, I positioned the artwork within an environment bordered by three walls and installed a suspended chair that reinforced the sensation of confidentiality; additionally, participants sealed their submissions in envelopes using stickers provided on-site. Following the week-long exhibition, I received a total of 74 submissions in the mailbox. These components of my design not only increased audience involvement, but also enriched and imparted greater meaning to the overall experience.
3D Animation: Introduction of Cocoon House
Instruction book of participation
Secured space for submission