5D optical data storage, hand-carved willow wood objects, epoxy table (concrete structure)

2025

​

The Eternal Memory Crystal is an emerging 5D optical storage medium that archives infor- mation through ultrafast laser pulses. Produced for this work by the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre in collabo- ration with the artist, the crystal is engineered to endure for billions of years. It encodes data within »fossilized light«—utilizing two optical and three spatial dimensions—to create a re- cord that far outlasts the lifespans of paper, film, or digital hardware. This spatial installation belongs to a speculative future, exploring how memory and mourn- ing are stored across technological, cultural, and ecological dimensions. At its centre stands a weeping willow—rooted in Ukrainian folklore as a symbol of the cyclical nature of time, memory, and renewal. The work combines in-SAR satellite data, upcoming data preservation technology, folklore, and ghost stories to trace willow forests now growing where water once flowed—trees as hauntological witnesses, living archives of violence, resilience, and memory embedded in wounded landscapes.

​​​​

​