Aluminum, wood, acrylic, electronic media
10 5/8 x 7 7/8 x 7 7/8” (27 x 20 x 20 cm)
Our world is in our computers, portable media players, and wireless hand-held 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 and receive their data on personal 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. The objects were first featured in the 2008 exhibition Design and the Elastic Mind and are part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection.
