Time Capsule - 10 Objects From My Past and Present

1)

The object on the left of the picture is a music box I've had for as long as I can remember. It plays the tune 'Greensleeves' and whenever I hear that tune I am powerfully reminded of my childhood; it's like a lullaby that has been sung to me since I was a baby. I also feel  that it symbolises a past technology due to its physical mechanism and so in this image I have juxtaposed it with my I-Pod; the object in my present that I listen to before falling asleep. 

2)

This is a picture of my favourite childhood book. Written by Eva Ibbotson, 'Journey to the River Sea' is the story of a young orphan girl from England who travels to the Amazon to live with her only living relatives. I can't remember how old I was when I first read it (though I think it was around 8) and it is the primary reason that one of my future aspirations is to visit the Amazon. I re-read this story many times and it makes up a big part of my childhood memories. It also represents a love of reading which I have carried throughout my life.

3)

  One reason this project particularly appealed to me is because I can be a very nostalgic person and because of this rarely throw things away. The picture above is my pin-board at home on which I have a collage of some tickets from favourite attractions and other souvenirs I have collected over the years. The one I selected for my time capsule is the Disneyland ticket you can see in the top left. I picked it as I am a big fan of Disney animated movies and so this ticket not only represents the memory of  2 years ago when I went to Disneyland Paris with a group of friends to celebrate the end of our GCSE exams (which is a very happy memory of mine) but also a lot of early childhood memories of watching Disney's films.

4) 

Along with reading, watching movies and playing with music boxes another thing I have a lot of memories of doing is listening to audio-books on cassette tape. We still have a large collection of these as pictured and the one I picked for my time capsule is the 'Just So Stories' by Rudyard Kipling. These short stories are still favourites of mine and I also felt that, like the music box, the tape represents past memories in the same sense as a dying technology, now replaced by CD's and/or downloads.

5&6) 

 For my next two objects I selected photographs. As said earlier I can be a very nostalgic person and so I have a large display of photos on my wall. Among these you can see a photo of me and my best friend when we first met in 2006 (left hand picture top right corner) and a photo of the two of us a few months ago (right hand picture top right corner). I picked these two photos out because I liked the comparison between the past and present and because my best friend is a big part of my memories over the last seven years, and I am sure will be in the future.

7)

If I had to pick one inanimate object that has the most significance to me in my past and present memories it would probably be this necklace. Given to me as a Christmas present from my Granddad  (I estimate about  5 years ago but honestly I don't fully remember)  the pendant is a thaumatrope that when spun reads 'I Love You'. I wear it every day, first just out of habit as an object that I like but after consistently wearing it's now feels weird if I don't have it on. I also selected it due to its significance in a project dealing with the past and present (not only memory) as the thaumatrope is a link in the development of cinematography.

8)

The next item I chose to go into the time capsule is my shirt from the last day of 6th form signed by many of my friends and classmates. Obviously it represents years of memories throughout secondary school but also I feel it shows an important step into the future as I left the school system I was so used to in June of this year and so progressed onto education here at Ravensbourne, which forms a big part of my present and future memories.

9) 

The next object is a bit more trivial in the context of those I have selected so far. It is a box of instant peach flavoured tea that I recently discovered and have become addicted to. I now drink it every day and so in its small way is a part of my present memories in each day.

10)

The last object I picked it the ticket for the Design Museum exhibition 'The Future is Here'. I felt this was appropriate as the exhibition theme of  past, present and possible future technologies and innovative ideas is a major part of this project. However, it is also an important present memory for me as it symbolises the start of my time at Ravensbourne.

My 10 selected objects together and in the Time Capsule

I buried my Time Capsule in my back garden beneath a Plant recently given to me by my Aunt and Uncle due to it name 'Laura'. I felt this was an appropriate place to bury something so personal to me and my present, past and future memories.