Cultivate Memories

approaching the treatment of the remains and memorabilia of a deceased loved one through the nurturing and growth of moss

 Background

The topic of death was approached from various angles ranging from funeral home and hospice visits, cemetery and memorabilia research, as well as numerous interviews for personal narratives of the first death of a loved one they have experienced.

Death over Time

Room for Death

cemeteries have become annually unsustainable and limited in space affecting its ability to hold, and honor those who have deceased

Memory Excess

photos are apart of everyone’s life as technology has advanced and will be the dominant form of memorialization

treatment of the bodies has transitioned from almost exclusively burials to nearly 50% choosing to become cremated

treatment of memorialization has shifted toward a celebration of life from common grieving and sorrow

the memorabilia left behind to remember a loved one is becoming increasingly digital compared to tangible items

 Design Solution

The use of a loved one’s cremated remains and photographic memorabilia to be cultivated as living moss squares to maintain links to personal memories and redefine cemetery space

 
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  1. receive photos & remains of deceased

  2. family chooses meaningful images

  3. moss blend is combined with remains

  4. images mounted in multiple moss pieces

  5. moss squares installed public & privately

 
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Public

a map is formed from the GPS coordinates data of each moss square’s photo to unify community via geography and memory

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Personal

selection of personal moss squares have photos that span all 12 months to engage the owner in nurturing their growth throughout the year

 
 
 

Personal Connection

With each moss square being grown with a particular photo memory, the time and location data is taken from each to create memory “flashbacks” sent to the user’s phone. The flashbacks are triggered upon the specific time and date the photo was taken, as well as the photo location relative to your GPS location.

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 Longevity

Over time more squares will be added and overlap with old ones, this layering shows another dimension giving viewers a sense of memory density to locations throughout the map of their community or county

Public Connection

with a QR code at the public installation, viewers can scan and access the archive and profiles of those in the moss wall, locate their squares, and view respective photos comprising their memorial

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