What Matters

Material culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. The different kinds of objects people possess, and the stories behind them, have always been a keen subject of interest to me. Every person has that one item that they have kept very safely and securely over a long period of time. Even if the world around them changes, that one object is something that is constant in their life no matter what. My curiosity to know what that particular object is, why it is so valuable, and what are the memories, experiences and emotions associated with it, is what made me choose this topic for my capstone.

What Matters is an archive of different object stories designed towards building a community through the common tendency of human beings to attach meaning and emotional value to their material objects.

What I understood from the culmination of my entire research is that while it isn’t surprising that people are indeed attached to their objects, it is really quite interesting to see the variety of sentiments attached to those objects. What's even more fascinating is that objects of a similar nature can evoke different emotions in different people and be related to different life events and experiences. For example, an item like a plushie has two different sentiments and experiences—for one person it is an object of excitement and pride, and for another, the plushie is a thing of farewells and nostalgia.