TRACE

TRACE is an interactive installation composed of a frame, paper, and projection. Centered on the concept of “traces,” the work explores how human growth is shaped by both visible and intangible marks of memory. The creator extracts color palettes from personal archival photographs and transforms the sound waves associated with the corresponding events into undulating, flowing abstract line patterns, which are then projected onto a roll of paper.

In terms of material and structural design, the work uses rolled paper as its primary medium. The paper’s lightness, translucency, and susceptibility to folding, stretching, and sagging allow the projected image to exist beyond a flat surface, continuously transforming through physical deformation. The frame serves to fix and guide the paper, enabling it to form natural folds, tension, and drooping curves when pulled. As a result, the projected imagery appears to flow, fracture, overlap, and distort, echoing the mutable nature of memory. In terms of interaction and light design, viewers participate in the work by pulling the paper. This movement alters the illuminated surfaces, light paths, and contrasts of the projection, causing the originally fixed image to reconfigure according to the depth of folds, the direction of stretching, and the viewer’s perspective. Rather than relying on complex electronic sensors, the installation creates an intuitive and embodied interaction through the immediate relationship between bodily action, material deformation, and projected light. By rendering hidden emotional memories into perceptible visual forms, TRACE creates an immersive experience in which the virtual and the tangible intertwine. It invites viewers to reflect that understanding a person requires more than observing outward appearances—the invisible imprints of life are equally essential in constituting a complete self.