The Last Memory

Coin cabinet — Charles Percier, Paris, ca. 1809–19

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/195473

The Last Memory reimagines Charles Percier's Coin cabinet as an archive of human memory. Instead of preserving coins and medals, its drawers preserve fleeting fragments of human life. Most compartments have gone dark, leaving only a few fragile memories behind. I kept the cabinet grounded in the visual language of a real museum artifact and introduced one impossible idea: what if memory itself could be physically preserved?

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What if damage wasn’t a flaw, but proof that something survived?

For the FLORA × The Met challenge, I started with an 18th-century shot-proof breastplate from The Met’s archive — a piece deliberately fired at to prove its strength.

I reimagined that same logic as PROOF, a protective vest for skateboarders.

Instead of hiding wear, the vest is designed to record it. As the outer black fabric tears through impact, different coloured layers are exposed depending on the depth of the damage.

Every fall leaves evidence. Every scar becomes part of the object. And even if thousands were manufactured, continued use would eventually make every vest one of one.

The original armor was damaged once to prove it could survive.

PROOF proves itself every time it survives.

I built and explored the full concept in FLORA, from the original museum piece and material studies to the final system, imagery and presentation.

I also recorded a full process walkthrough covering why I chose the piece, the concept behind the damage system, my iterations, models, and the FLORA canvas.

My submission for the FLORA × The Met Challenge.

This is such a strong example of turning damage into a design language rather than something to hide. I especially love the idea that every impact permanently changes the vest, meaning the object slowly becomes a record of its own survival. The connection between the historical...