Lasting Impressions: A speculative memento

Ten Days on the Island is a biannual arts festival celebrating creativity in Tasmania. Following on from a project involving creating a memento from an attended event Bushland during the 2019 festival, the brief was to design a speculative memento for the 2021 Ten Days on the Island festival.

This design focuses on forming a personal connection between the user, the event/festival and the object.

The copper locket conceals a scrolled note bursting with prompts to be filled in by the user. Their responses to these prompts will capture their feelings and thoughts of the event and/or festival as a whole, while also recording the Zeitgeist of autumn 2021 in Tasmania. Linking in with the festival’s aim to be environmentally conscious and establishing a connection to place, the time capsule also challenges the participant to reflect on their lasting impressions on Tasmania and its environment. Is it possible to love and enjoy Tasmania and leave only footprints?

The thylacine stripes are a cue for the urgency to conserve the natural values of our island. While the time capsule is intended to only be opened in 10 years time, the locket is designed for regular use. This frequent interaction with the object will heighten the user’s connection to their memento throughout the decade, all while evoking their curiosity. On the contrary, it could also be buried beneath the ground or left seemingly forgotten in the back of a closet to then be excitingly rediscovered all those years later.