GABA HEAVEN

Our memory capacity is dying. With the rise of the internet, our brains have become better at forgetting. Sohyun Lee's project explores the relationship between the brain and digital technology, redefining the correlation between memory and death. GABA is a neurotransmitter that calms the brain, reducing anxiety and stress. Digital technologies, in many ways, act similarly to this transmitter. With the erosion of memory and the possible degeneration of brain development, a kind of digital dementia, digital technologies can reduce stress and bring well-being and peace. is conceived as a funeral parlor of memory, drawing on Korean funeral rituals. Yet this funeral is not somber; rather, it echoes the joyful procession from Akira Kurosawa's (1990). It becomes a meditative, even pleasant, reflection on human transience. At the same time, the work critiques the growing dominance of capital in the form of data. Lee prepared this funeral of memories through an AR application and a 3D animation installation. invites us to consider whether there can be joy in letting go—and whether peace can coexist with forgetting.