A series of lock screen wallpapers intended to evoke the same feeling and hold the same purpose as physical amulets and talismans at home.
Growing up, I used to see various amulets and talismans around the home. The most prominent one would be what we have hanging on the doors. Because I have been so used to seeing things around the house during my childhood as a form of protection and good luck, I use similar objects around my room in college. I also started using apotropaic symbols such as the evil eye in my social media profiles. It always felt almost arbitrary to me to wear these symbols or have them around me at all times, though there wasn't really any reason for me to. The most intriguing idea for me was viewing the lock screen as a door, as it technically is to enter the phone. This brought me to the question:
Can digitalized amulets and talismans within a screen create the same effect that physical objects do in the home?
Inspiration & Process
“The smartphone is no longer just a device that we use, it’s become the place where we live.”
— Prof Daniel Miller
My childhood and my experiences with amulets and talismans growing up was a huge influence on this project, therefore I thought there wouldn't be a better person to gain some insights on other than my own mother. Her love for amulets and talismans always fascinated me, as I never really knew what or how they worked, yet her belief that they protected her from something or brought her good luck, was very interesting to me. I wondered if this same kind of belief/faith in a way could also be applied digitally (on phones.)
I wanted to bring this element from home to a place which I visit daily; my phone lock screen.
I used Adobe Fresco (iPad), Photoshop, After Effects, & Premiere Pro to create my final designs. I first used Fresco/Photoshop to create the actual drawings/symbols. Then, I moved to AE in order to create the animations for each piece. Finally, I used Premiere Pro for final adjustments and exporting.