Time Capsule 0.1

Personal meaning… What objects have personal meaning to me? I sat on my couch and thought about this question for a while, thinking back to the moments I was happiest and the objects that were around me at the time. I looked around my apartment, scouting the place for things that brought back memories. A couple of objects came to mind.

The first object is my trusty polaroid camera. It is sitting on a shelf ready to be used, extra film stored in my fridge. I got this camera a couple of years ago to capture moments in my life, similar to how my mom used to capture my childhood moments with her 35mm film.

The second object is a little wooden rabbit puzzle I put together during quarantine last year. The puzzle was bought in 2016 while on a trip in Japan. I remembered walking down the aisles lined with stores at the Tokyo Skytree and seeing a stand full of little traditional models of Japanese architecture. I bought a rabbit puzzle that day and put it together last year.

My third object is a book called The Dutch House, a book I purchased at the airport on my way to Houston, TX. The story follows two siblings throughout the decades from when they were little living in a beautiful estate referred to as the Dutch house, all the way through their adulthood as they live in NYC. The story is dear to me for two reasons: I read the book during my last Christmas with my family and the story itself reminded me of my relationship with my younger brother.

My fourth and final object is my vinyl/record of Tears for Fears. The record was given to me by one of my best friends/roommate at the time back in Savannah, GA for my birthday. Apart from loving the band, I’ve cherished the record since my friend and I used to jam to their songs while we were studying abroad in Hong Kong and France. Playing the vinyl on my record player nowadays takes me back to my adventures abroad and my time living in Savannah, GA.

Once I picked my objects and remembered why they were meaningful to me, I proceeded to craft the stories around them. Using the knowledge I acquired from previous assignments, I started taking pictures of my objects, creating narratives in my head and ideating different plots. Once I was happy with my pictures, I put them in figma and proceeded to make different storyboards and even a stop motion animation for my narratives:

Polaroid Camera

I woke up early one rainy morning, right before the sun peaked out of the horizon. I went on with my routine, putting the kettle on the stove and read my book as I waited for my water to boil.

I took a sip of my hot tea, peaking out of my window as my surroundings got brighter. I noticed the dew outside my window and a couple of people passing by, so I grabbed my instant camera and proceeded to shoot. Click.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked myself. I hit the shutter but no picture came out. I try again. Click. No picture. Suddenly, a young man passes by and I get the urge to take a picture of him. I open the camera and take out the pack of film discovering it’s empty. ‘That’s it!’ I think to myself as I run to my fridge, opening the door and grabbing the first pack I saw. I load the camera with the new film and sprint back to my window.

I find the right angle and proceed to put the camera to my eye. There’s no man in sight anymore, but I snap the picture anyways. Click. The film comes out and all I see is… darkness, black. I stare at the blackness of the polaroid and store it inside the closet. I close the door to ensure the picture can develop properly and I smile, knowing that I stopped time on this early rainy morning ith my picture.

Rabbit Puzzle

There was once a little rabbit looking to decorate its home. It would wake up early every morning and travel far and wide all over the vast garden. It would come back home every night empty-handed, never finding what it was looking for.

One morning the rabbit hopped out of its home and went on its journey to find the item that would complete its house. The rabbit hopped for a little while before coming to a halt. ‘Is that a cactus?’ he exclaimed, excited to have found something in his path. The rabbit came closer to the plant, exclaiming ‘There’s two! There’s two cacti!’

The rabbit quickly proceeded to grab the cacti one by one, bringing it home and finally coming to rest. ‘These are perfect!’, it exclaimed, proud of its findings. Looking at its home, the rabbit realized that it wouldn’t need to go out anymore since it found what it was looking for. ‘Well, guess I now need to go look for something new!’. And with that, the rabbit settled for the night, staring at its cacti and preparing itself for tomorrow’ new adventure.

Tears for Fears — Vinyl

Welcome everyone! Come closer, come closer! I have today the future of music! No longer will you need to listen to the radio and the horrible static that comes with it! You see, we've created a device that lets you listen to music in your home! You heard me right! In your home! We’ve illustrated the steps to how to use this innovative machine on the wonderful poster you see above:

Step 1! Take your record, the large flat circle inside the cardboard, and grab it with one hand. Make sure to be careful when holding it!

Steeeeep 2! Grab your record by one of the edges and start spinning it around as fast as you can! This will charge the record so it is playable.

And finally, Step 3! Once charged, just place the record on the record table, lower the needle, and enjoy!

Buy the record player today for 59.99 and each record for 19.99! Only for a limited time!

The Dutch House — Book

“Thank God she’s gone” I said to myself as I watched the human leave through the front door. It’s been over a year since she moved into my apartment. A long time ago she would pop around for a couple of hours and then leave to do whatever she pleases. It’s annoying to see her around so often. I didn’t give her permission to move in!

“Hmm?” I see something poking out of my napping table. “What’s this?”, I exclaim. I pull out what seems to be a book from under the rubble, and I realize that this is the book the human is reading. I open the book and scan the pages inside. “Don’t mind if I do…”.

I sigh. “So he dies huh”. It’s been three hours and I’ve reached the end of the book. I’m of course a brilliant reader, but the ending of this book is… not what I expected. “He dies?”, I say to myself as I flip to the last page. “Bummer. Might as well tell her it’s not worth it.”

All of a sudden the door opens and there she is. Back already? Speak of the devil.

“Hi baby did you have a good time?”

The human rushes towards me and picks me up, squeezing the air out of me. Ughh she’s the worst. You know what? I won’t tell her the horrible ending. I’ll let her suffer on her own.

Reflection

I throughly enjoyed taking a step back into memory lane and cracting stories around items that mean a lot to me. I used my creativity to create different visuals for my stories, and think that each of them is unique in its own way. As a next step, I would love to explore auditory mediums and even social media to tell a story.