passively, possibly is a downloadable .zip file that publishes a series of user-submitted queer objects.
Set in the private space of a user’s desktop, the file generates a randomized collage of ephemera to create an intimate space for queer memory and reflection. The project investigates digital spaces as a site for queer communion and resistance, using design to explore alternative approaches to publishing through the web. I also discuss the project here.
YEAR
2021
TYPE
Design Research
Interactive/Digital
Experimental Publishing
PROJECT SITE
Objects of Memory for a Digital Space
Queerness finds its form through ephemera — it is the sticky residue of the stories we tell each other, and the moments we commit to memory. So, what is it that we keep, display, or hide; what are the objects or things that lie around in our memories and spaces that remind us of our queerness?
Setting out a public survey with that question, the objects collected were translated into digital space through imperfect 3D scanning. These objects offered an entry point into the stories of queer experiences from contributors.
The passively_possibly.html space. Clicking on an object reveals a series of connected texts.
Private desktop spaces and computer intimacies
Engaging with web vernacular and desktop interfaces as a medium, the project uses pop-ups and a sprawling, collage-like space to reorient our relationship with digital media. The format resists the linear browsing behaviour of vertical scrolling to encourage exploration, with no set path or order.
Using file names and folder nesting, the source files that make up the .html collage space reveal themselves as a nested queer narrative — drawing together quotes from the beloved queer utopian text “The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions” by Larry Mitchell.
Folder structure and ABOUT.txt file from the project.
Video demo of the experience.
Screenshot of the project site.