Anachronic Stamp speculates upon the possibility of selecting and erasing memories. On the intersection of design and fiction, this project explores the human obsession and the boundaries between memory and identity by focusing on only one character, understanding his hardships, his decisions to erase certain memories and the intrinsic consequences of this process.
Chungking Express, the 1994 film by the Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, distinctly captures the human obsession — and is particularly immersed in the passage of time. The concept behind this adaptation of Wong Kar-wai’s work builds itself around the idea that memories might have expiration dates — a thought presented by one of the main characters of the film: He Zhiwu, Cop 223.
Aided by a mournful voice-over narration, Cop 223 recurrently gives significance to dates and numbers in a film where time is a clear object of obsession. Driven by an idea of reconciliation with May, his recent ex-girlfriend, Cop 223 begins a quest of buying almost-expired cans of pineapple — cans with an expiration date of May 1st, which is also the date of his birthday.
Bearing in mind the film’s adaptation, another fundamental aspect is the characters’ sense of alienation and dreaminess: they move about immersed in their peculiar thoughts, reveries and delusions, paying no mind to their surroundings — almost as if floating. While they all remain in their self-contained universes, following the laws of desire and their eccentric paths in pursuit of a perhaps elusive state of happiness, Wong is able to invade the film’s idiosyncratic character’s fantasies — in virtue of his singular dazzling, fluid and experimental style. Voice-over narrations become devices that are able to display the characters’ emotions and thoughts. Therefore, we likewise intend to make use of the monologue with the aim of delving into our lead character’s mind.
Anachronic Stamp stands as the final project for Communication Design VI, Communication Design Bachelor of Arts (2019/2020), Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. This project was co-created by Ana Sofia Rodrigues, André Mota, Carlos Trabulo and Carolina Aguiar.