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Mementos

Mementos is a project taking inspiration from Franz Kafka's magnum opus Metamorphosis. The goal of the project is to turn the novel's typographic material into a format to be experienced.

The thing I am obsessed with Metamorphosis is the concept of dehumanization and surreal transformation. In addition, the system of symbols in the story also captivated my attention since they are objects that significantly affect Gregor's transformation. At the end of the story, the question haunting me was:

"What's left to remember when Gregor is gone?"
"Will he be remembered at all?"

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I decided to employ the medium of 3D since it could enhance the effect, turning the letters and symbol into organic, breathing, moving, living creatures.

After deciding to focus on the metaphorical aspect of the novel, I move on to analyse symbols from the novel to pick out the most significant ones.

Although Metamorphosis is packed with metaphorical imageries, I shortlisted them down to 4 symbols: the bug, the clock, the apple, and the violin since they are most prominant imageries that mark the main phases of the story.

The treatment for the 3D material and the animation aimed to embody the notion of transition, transformation, or to be exact, deformation. As the symbols and letters morph, they emphasize the deformation process of the story.

As the viewers scan the memento card, they will experience the morphing of the words into symbols. To make it even more interactive, the viewers could freeze and continue the morphing transformation at any moment by tapping on the screen. This allows them to inspect the morphing more thoroughly and thus, engage with the project better.

The AR Experience is demonstrated in the video below.