An Augmented Reality and Visual Art project exploring the effects of memory on the past

Emily Cai (2025), Advised by Professor Sohee Park (Computer Science) and Kameelah Janan Rasheed (Visual Art)

Abstract

This installation explores memory as a form of haunting. I was inspired to create a piece that reveals how people and places linger, even after they’re gone. I’m interested in how remembering can make something feel present again, while forgetting can slowly unravel a sense of self.

The first component consists of suspended colored pencil fragments, depicting moments, people, and places. Like how memories form an imperfect image of the past, the pieces shift and misalign depending on the viewer’s vantage point. Some pieces overlap, others are hidden behind new layers. Altogether, they form a fragile, fractured whole.

The second component consists of a set of augmented reality prints. Each print is linked to a mobile AR (augmented reality) experience that reveals ghostlike figures hidden in the scene, visible through a phone camera. These moments reflect how absence can feel ever-present and the persistence of memory.

Altogether, the installation explores how loss is not a void, but a kind of return— how memory, like a ghost, exists as both an absence and a presence.

CPSC 490

Under the supervision of Professor Sohee Park, I explored the use of AR across disciplines and developed a pipeline for creating mobile-friendly AR projects. Using Unity, Glitch, A-Frame, and AR.js, I implemented image tracking and video overlays to support the print component of the installation.

CPSC 490 poster

ART 496: Visual Art

The first component, titled I Remember It Like It Were Yesterday, consists of a large hanging structure made of hand-drawn colored pencil fragments. Each fragment is based on a photograph and represents a person, moment, or place. Suspended from thread and arranged on chipboard, the drawings appear fragile and uneven. As viewers move around the piece, the image shifts—some parts line up, others get hidden or revealed—much like how memories are recalled in pieces, depending on perspective. 

The second component builds on the AR pipeline developed during CPSC 490. It includes six prints depicting liminal spaces—quiet, empty scenes without people. When scanned using the QR code on the back, each print activates an AR experience through a website. A new layer appears that is visible only through the screen. AR offers a unique way to convey this experience—both tactile and intangible, both hidden and revealed.