Khim: Container Models

Container Models

1

"The Mummy Mouse & Tomb"

The Mummy

I researched about the Egyptian rituals, and found out something interesting: they said that when a person is to be mummified, his internal organs are taken out to be preserved except for the heart. The tomb, in total, usually have 3 layers. So I applied that to the container — separating the cover of the mouse from its body, leaving the circuits inside as the circuit is believed to be the mouse's "heart".

To link this together, I joined the bandages together (with a black cardboard inside for stability). The cord of the mouse is placed inside of the connecting bandages.

CONCEPT:

The cord represents the soul of the mouse: it is connected to "its heart (the circuit)" while also linking back to the bandages that were used to wrap around its body in order to form a "mummy". This represents sealing, where the soul of the medium is kept and contained by the bandages — its soul is entwined to its body, resting ("dead").

The Tomb

I also found out that on the tomb, the appearance of the dead person is drawn so that when that person "comes back to life", he or she will then be able to return to their own body again. Their soul is accompanied by the visual image carved on the tomb. I find this really interesting since it matches the fact that, suppose the mouse is dead, there might be someone who wishes for it to come back: like the mummy, though none of them have actually come back to life until now. That is why I decided to draw the internals of the mouse on the tomb's cover.

In addition, while the actual tomb will have the carvings of the protecting Gods and the person's "next life", the mouse's tomb is carved with the historical appearances of the mouse (since the first one, in 1964).

Under the cover of the second layer, there is also the "back view" of the circuit carved on.

On the bottom of the third layer, there is a blessing (the actual one is in Egypt, but to match with the mouse, I used English with a different quote) written:

"May Your Soul Rest in Piece."

(Yes, it is PIECE, as in pieces of the mouse)

THE OVERALL IDEA:

The mummification, relating to being the medium that awaits a person's soul to come back to life (or sometimes going to the next life), matches the idea of the mouse which was supposedly (going to be) dead. The tomb is like a medium that reminds us of the mouse, while the bandage container is "part of the mouse itself (its cord) restraining its body". This implies that, the cord, is no longer the center of popularity, and it became dead, technologically because of the touch-pads.

2

"His Life is In My Hand"

It's the idea that our hands itself is a container, especially nowadays when the number of people who seem to be moving cursors on the screen via fingers (touch-pads) are increasing rapidly. Touch screens do not need to be "hold", unlike the optical mouse.

This is the container used to make our hands "the container". It allows the mouse to be carried around without the needs to "hold" it. It comfortably sticks to your hand.

The container is made up of two gloves glued together on the edges with a space in the middle to push an object in.

Carrying it around like this, the mouse could not be used. It could be used if it's desired to be, but its life is in the owner's hand, it could still be usefull, or remain completely useless. Technology is there, but if we insists not to use it, then it's not of use. "This" mouse is then technologically dead.

3

"Carry On"

More like a cheerful concept regarding the death of the mouse.

Eventhough carrying a mouse independently is more difficult than the touch-pads which came with the laptops, some people enjoy using it anyway. Like fashion, people sticks to it for a while, then when a new season arrives, they goes with the flow.

"Eventhough it's going to be gone, life needs to carry on."

And so directly, the mouse carries on. (Though it looks dead there.)

3.5

"Failed Attempts"

The rolling mouse could not flipped over. It got stuck half way through.

It needs weight to flip over, but if too much weight it used on one side, the container will just stand (stably) on that side.

If the weight is too light, then nothing will happen at all.

The materials used needs to be strong enough to be able to bear the force of the falling mouse, with curves for the rotating effect and just enough weight for the container to flip over. It became a bit difficult with the cable of the mouse, since it will need to be stick to the mouse's body or else it will travel all over the place when the mouse is dropped down.

The only material I have left other than wood sticks, thin cardboard papers and korean clay is a PVC sheet. It's not strong enough, but I don't have any choice left. So I tried doing a prototype with it, and the container broke down.