2 Wrappings of mortality -

 

 The process of remembering; how we decide to remember or when we decide to remember comes with simple things, such as sights, sounds or smells that transport us to a moment with the ones we’ve lost. These moments are fast and when we try to hold on to the thought, the scene, the words, the feeling, they are long sunk in to the a storm of thoughts which your brain has become. 

 The process of remembering; taking the time to go and visit these places of eternal silence, of sadness and forgiveness, taking the car and looking for the graves becomes purgatory of emotions, done only on special days marked in a calendar. Once there we walk around, we talk and cry, but always conscious of the ones around you, respectfully keeping the silence that characterizes these places. Here the colors are all grey, and the smell is that of roses and flowers that were left there months ago. When the decision is to cremate, people often tend to keep an ornate urn, that is placed in the house or garden, they become integrated with the daily life décor of the house. In some cases people will try to scatter the ashes at a place that has relevance to the person, or simply because of its context. These places are often in either secluded places, that are not often close to their daily lives or routines; in other cases they are in public places that don’t allow them find solitude.

 Understanding that it is very difficult to create an object for all different religions and rituals, Yitoy is design so that all religions are welcomed, since it is not based on symbols, but our memories. That’s why it can be found anywhere; just like anywhere we might remember our loved ones. Yitoy is a container of memories; scatter with in the city, at parks, streets, or even at private residences. They become a part of our daily life, and can be visited at any time or location whether you live in New York and a visit to Paris. We no longer need to run after those thoughts, but instead we have them in boxes around the city or world. But with in the public context where Yotoy can be found; it is also a container for privacy, where we could talk, cry or scream, not being conscious of your surroundings. This closure and connection with the remembered, gives us freedom to express what we can’t express elsewhere.

 The container is a concrete prism rising 19 feet at 8 inches, of a 9’ 8’’ X 9’ 8’’base. To enter you have a keypad with a card reader where a User name and password are entered. Once Inside we find open space topped with a mirror surface ceiling, that is suspended by glass windows to allow for light to come in through the top. The height of the space and the point of entry of the light immediately makes us look upwards making us lose the context of where we came in from, in to a different realm, that connects us to light above us, which brings us warmth and clarity. On one of the sides we find a bench that can be used for seating or to lie down, that has an integrated touch panel, with the an interface similar to the ones used for social networks. Here we can find the different profiles of the people we want to remember, family member, friend or even a historical figure. Each Profile has different sections where different formats of memories can be stored, such as Photos, videos, audio, or text. It also has a list of friends that you have in common, so that you can share memories with them, and a mailbox, for new possible acquaintances to be added, which is always interesting. As part of becoming a part of Yitoy, a presentation can be created so that the user can have mix of the memories, created specially for each person. The presentation will be created from the archives that the person uploads, making the experience interactive, and changes as we add things. Intel recently had an initiative with Facebook, where they created “ The Museum of Me”, this is a good reference as for how it would work and look. 

 People that go to the cemetery can visit the grave, and after go to one and re-visit the moments you have stored in Yitoy. People can bring their urns to Yitoy, creating a new experience during the mourning process. During special dates such as anniversaries, a specific Yotoy could be reserved for certain hours, to allow for family and friend gatherings. 

 To become part of the Yitoy platform you would need to pay an entry fee, that would include the creation of 3 accounts with 3 profiles and access to the network of Yitoys around the world. After the first year a subscription fee is required, for maintaining cost of both the network and buildings. In case that the Yitoy is acquired for private use, the fee will be of the construction costs and the network maintenance. These customers could be a family or cemeteries, corporations or even governments, making them very commercial as a modular type of crypt. 

 

 

 

 

Yitoy explores the gap left between the process of burial or cremation and the grieving and remembering. The person that we have lost is no longer part of the material world, its based on memories and images. The traditional ways of wrapping mortality are based on the material part of it; they have not solved the spiritual side of the person. Yitoy is a wrapping of memories, as well as a possible container for the remains, since it could act as a grave, urn or niche. In cemeteries or private properties families would be able to buy one and bury the coffin or place the urn inside. In case of burial, each piece would contain from 3 to 5 coffins. Wall niches can be created integrated with in the walls inside the space. 

The ones found at public places, purely become containers for memories and of possible peregrination for people that want to bring their urns. Anyone with an account to the system can access the public ones, making it not a product for just the wealthy, but also for the general public.