“Echoes of Nostalgia: A Symphony of Broken Hearts”
art direction
sound design
video editing
graphic design
In the labyrinth of memories, where nostalgia intertwine with the echoes of broken hearts, I find my graduation work - a visual and sound installation encapsulating the essence of human emotion.
Through my work, I aim to evoke a visceral response, tapping into the depths of nostalgia and the rawness of heartache. Each element, meticulously crafted, serves as a link to transport the audience to their own feelings and experiences.
At the core of my creation lies music, the timeless narrator of my innermost feelings. Music has been my steadfast companion through life existence. It weaves through the fabric of my memories, stitching together moments of joy, sorrow, and everything in between.
Within this installation, the visual and auditory elements converge to form a harmonious symphony of emotion. The gentle whirr of a cassette player, the haunting melody of a meaningful tune - all come together to create this echoed dreamy nostalgia and heartbreak.
But amidst the melancholy, there is beauty in the chaos. Through the cracks of shattered dreams and faded recollections, fragments of hope emerge.
Navigating the tumultuous terrain of heartbreak, after some research I came across different stages of ‘grief’, using that as a reference point and creating the mixtapes solely on the purpose of being my medium as a narrative and exploration of my emotions and experiences, I have segmented the mixtapes into three phases.
Firstly, there’s the phase of ‘Mourning Haze’, where reminiscing about the moments shared with a beloved one becomes an exercise in emotional catharsis. It is a time when tears flow freely, and every song seems to resonate with the ache deep within your soul.
Translating this feeling of denial and going over and over again back in your memories trying to understand the end, I have recorded back and forth from analog back to digital, and back to analog, and so on on my cassette tape. I used this back and forth recording technique to create layers of textures, warm, hissing, fuzzy sounds where synthesises this feeling of being on a blurry, confused loop of memories.
“Mourning Haze” set design in collaboration with Gianmarco Losco
visual installation made from analog photogram experiments projected and digitally recorded. Screened at London College of Communication Grad Show 2024
Then comes the tumultuous phase of ‘Dice of Anger’, a period of questioning, of doubting the authenticity of once-treasured feeling. ‘Was it all a lie?’ You wonder, as anger and bitterness threaten to consume you. ‘ I hate you’ you whisper, but beneath the surface, love still flickers, refusing to be extinguished.
For this feeling, I have translated into manipulating my cassette tape with pulling out the magnetic tape and scratching, rubbing it, and rewind it back together. The aggression and contact on the magnetic tape have created a sound effect which is more noisy, grainy, distorted, disintegrated and crackly sounds.
“Dice of Anger” set design in collaboration with Gianmarco Losco
Yet, amidst the storm, there emerges a glimmer of hope, the final phase of ‘Endless Love’.
Despite the scars of past heartaches, optimism blooms anew. It’s a time of self-discovery and resilience, where the pain of yesterday becomes the fuel for tomorrow’s dreams. With newfound strength, you embrace the notion that love still lingers on the horizon, waiting to be rediscovered. You hopefully learn to love yourself first, to cherish the vibrant hues of life, and to welcome new adventures with open arms.
For this cassette tape I have cut, spliced and taped the tape back together throughout the whole length of the magnetic tape to imitate our scars, we move on, we are ready for new chapter but we carry our pain and marks from the past. This technique and physical contact with the magnetic tape have created a sound effect in which the audio is faded. You can hear the silence—pauses—where the pieces of the tape I joined back together create these blank sounds.
‘Endless Love’ set design in collaboration with Gianmarco Losco
visual installation screened at London College of Communication Grad Show 2024
Behind the scenes video where showcase some of the techniques explored to create the sound effects of cassette tapes:
j-cards design for cassette tapes case
installation at London College of Communication Grad Show 2024
print with darkroom experiments (photogram)
collage
(594 x 841 mm )
collage
(594 x 841 mm )