Passdown Project

Building a collection on the internet is like building a sandcastle on the beach: eventually the tide washes in and it’s as if it never existed in the first place.

In recent years, there have been studies that designate digital hoarding as a subtype of psychological hoarding disorder. Much like physical hoarders, the subjects of these studies found it emotionally distressing to discard stored data, citing a fear of wasted potential for future use.

By continuing to pursue these lines of thought, we develop new ways of framing our interactions with the dead online, and may find pathways for breaking our calcified archival imaginaries and reimagine new ways of living with the data bodies we construct, inhabit, and inherit.

Perhaps, in an economy where the sale of information has made certain people very rich, you could argue that we collect these scraps hoping to one day turn passion projects into passive income. Of course, for most this is not the priority. Storing old files is nothing more than an innocent way to relive a pleasant memory. For others, though, the va... See more