Jon Stam

Department: Social Design

Shared Reflections

Contemporary art spaces are institutes without collections. Their stories evolve onsite in real-time, thereby posing an interesting challenge: how do you design a past with institutes predominantly dedicated to the cutting edge of the present? My research explores how participatory documentation can shape a new institutional and social memory. Shared Reflections is a convex mirror that merges a digital reflection of the past with the actual reflection of the present. The project empowers visitors to capture a memory of their experience — making a memory for others to witness. A memory is activated when one pulls the mirror’s string, causing the capture of a security camera image, which is then displayed within the mirror’s frame. The result is a double-image of both then and now, you and the other. Shared Reflections is a shared experience between alternate time, one that is ready to be reactivated and appropriated to create a future memory.