In Living Memory

In Living Memory is an interactive installation built from high-resolution Gaussian splat scans captured in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, reassembled into a composite scene unique to the work. This tableau visibly disintegrates over time as dislodged splats drift from their positions, distorting the composition with traces of their motion. Driven directly by viewers in the interactive installation of this work, and by historical datasets tracking social unrest and biodiversity loss in the generative video artifact, this ‘decoherence of record’ forms the core of the work.

To engage with the world is to alter it — observation and interaction are inextricable. All digital records have an implicit point of view, reflected in precisely what was recorded. Thus, the authority of a digital “memory” rests on trust in the archivist.

That trust is evaporating: AI-generated content floods the record, and governments worldwide inject misinformation into scientific and political discourse. Increasingly, internet archives and government databases are at risk of permanent deletion (or worse, retroactive revision). What remains when the shared record can no longer be trusted? Only that which we have seen, smelled, heard or felt first hand. Reality, for better or worse, resides only in living memory.

In Living Memory exists as both interactive installation and generative video artifact, the latter replacing audience interaction with historical data, specifically the Living Planet Index (tracking biodiversity, 1970–2024) and Edelman Trust Barometer (institutional trust over the same period). These timeseries are normalized and mapped to disintegration and distortion parameters in place of audience interaction.

Interactive Installation: Dimensions variable; duration infinite; 60fps (adaptable to any screen configuration)

Video Artifact: 2min49sec; 3840x2160p (60fps)

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