Alternate Reality
Eddy Xia
We are in the midst of an era where digital middlemen control and provide media in exchange for monetary tributes.
Alternate Reality is a commentary on the preservation of digital subcultures. The responsibility of preserving online media is now held in the hands of third-party middlemen, driven by financial incentives and subject to the whims of the market. If this model endures, we will lose access to our favorite moments, making recovery difficult, if not impossible.
Alternate Reality aims to imagine a solution and create a refuge for passive preservation of digital services. Creating inventions that download and host without paying tribute to third parties while offering functional features to encourage maintenance and extend its longevity.
Alternate Reality’s aesthetics refer to the optimistic retro-futurist view. It combats today’s dystopian mindset that technology is a human replacement, replacing it with the hopeful idea that technology can still enhance life.
These objects offer us a glimpse into a parallel universe with modern technological features, voiding the idea of old vs. new and shifting the focus onto the what-ifs and discussions of future preservation methods.