Aluminum, wood, acrylic, and electronic media
Not on view
What happens to our data when we die? In the conceptual design piece Digital Remains, Gauler envisions hardware elements that function as objects of remembrance. “New technologies bring new ways of mourning,” she says. Connected to a computer via Bluetooth, a personalized and decorated data-storage urn allows users to access a loved one’s digital remains. Search algorithms dig through data, pulling out relevant personal traces—like photographs from a holiday spent together or a favorite song—that evoke the deceased’s presence.
Pirouette: Turning Points in Design, January 26, 2025–November 15, 2025
Gallery label from Born out of Necessity , March 2, 2012–January 28, 2013
Our world is in our computers, portable media players, and wireless handheld devices; our data is stored on remote networks, creating digital archives of entire generations of people. What will happen to all of this information when we pass away? "Physical access keys to this data would become objects of remembrance," Gauler suggests. Digital Remains, a beautiful, personalized data-storage artifact equipped with a Bluetooth connection, allows users to log on to the digital remains of a loved one on their own digital devices. Search algorithms dig through the data, pulling out relevant personal traces, like a photograph from a holiday spent together or a favorite piece of music, evoking the presence of the deceased. "New technologies bring new ways of mourning," Gauler says.
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