Memory Boxes

So what am i actually studying? what is a conventional or unconventional memory box. In my opinion memory boxes or keep sakes are different for different people . Photographs , concert tickets , memorabilia , items of clothing almost everything linked to a memory can be placed into a memory box .and the box its self is what ever the collector chooses it to be , there are not rules or guidelines yet peoples have similar themes. A common theme in memory boxes is childhood , babies clothes ,toys photographs are widely collected by parents and can have warm childhood recollections to the children when they are older. Why do we collect these objects to preserve memories . is it just a form of hording or an unwillingness to release the past ? Are they for personal pleasure or is it to share memories? Theses are all questions I hope to explore .Oliver Burkeman from The Guardian writes "Collecting memories is less about the memories than the collecting: a desperate effort to slow down time, or shore up a barricade against the inevitable oblivion of death."

I have been thinking about different types of memory "boxes", in some cases minus the box to get me started .  Some conventional others unconventional but all a way of collecting memory's. On beginning this project memory boxes now seem to come up in conversation with everyone I encounter and these are a few of the different possibility's people have said .

SHOE BOXES- it is common for people to collect memory's in a shoe box possibly through there accessibility and ease to store .

PYRAMIDS- A pyramid in a way is a historical memory box , the dead were mummified and buried with a number of there prized possessions often gold and jewels. They are also known to contain persomal objects such as heirlooms, there clothing and cosmetic/perfumes .
http://www.ehow.com/info_8163675_items-would-found-tomb-pyramid.html

HOMES- Family homes could be considered living memory boxes , riddled with photographs , memorabilia and treasured household memories. This could possibly open my project into a bigger scale , I would like to explore this idea further.

FACEBOOK PAGES- A digital representation of a memory box. Due to the development and accsesability of technology our entire lives are now virtually caught on smart phones and uploaded online . Facebook has a clever system called a time line putting all our you life events in the order they happened . Images ,videos, statuses and "tagged in" are a way of making sure you never forget a moment or memory ever again .

HARDDRIVES- Again a digitalised way of collecting memory's , particularly images and video.

DESKS- desk space and work offices can in some cases be used to store memory's . I think mainly as a use of escape, holiday and family photographs are commonly found but ornaments and tickets have been known to be found in the working environment .
LOCKET- often family heirlooms , lockets are in a way a tiny memory box containing pictures of loved ones and often with sentimental quality's.

PHOTO ALUMS- Almost every household somebody will own a photo album of memory's. 
 
I decided to look up the web definition of a memory box and it was a unexpected result.

memory box

Web definitions

1. A memory box is a box provided by some hospitals in the event of stillbirth, miscarriage, or other problem during or after childbirth. They contain objects belonging to or representing the deceased child to help relatives come to terms with their loss

It seems to me so far in these very early stages of my research memory boxes have darker themes of death and loss and time .yet memory boxes are a great way of reliving warming life events . I need to start to look into what people keep and why ,what's the significance ?