CharnelHouse is a psychological and social exploration of both the finite and infinite aspects of our digital identities – identities based upon our interactions and intrapersonal relationships within the sphere of social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube, Vimeo, and Tumblr. It is an installation that serves as a tangible memorialization of the individual’s virtual life: the deceased’s online identity is preserved and displayed within the structure and is only accessed through an “in memoriam card”, an RFID-embedded card that includes one’s causation of death, a QR code linking to his or her personal website, and statistics regarding his or her social media usage in comparison to national averages. Once activated, the user enters the enclosed space (a metaphor for the transition between the living, corporeal world to a virtual afterlife) and is visually and audibly immersed in the deceased’s social media existence.

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