echoes of nostalgia

“Echoes of Nostalgia:
A Symphony of Broken Hearts”

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.

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.

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 and spliced 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.

In this space, time is fluid, and memories intertwine like threads in a tapestry. It is a sanctuary for the broken - hearted, a refuge for the weary traveler, and a celebration of the enduring meaning of music in our lives.

I want the audience to choose freely which phase they would like to listen first as we deal with grief in different ways. I have curated the mixes in the order of ‘Mourning Haze’, ‘Dice of Anger’ and ‘Endless Love’ based on my experience but feel free to choose however you would like to start this nostalgic journey.