A Cassette as a Memory 1 Tannaz Amin Geraphic Designer

Camera: Canon PowerShot Pro 1
Dimension: 20×20 cm

The first cassette tape was invented by Philips 50 years ago in 1962, and a year later, it revolutionized the concept of music playing. At a time when there was still no USB flash drive and CD optical support, young people had to stay up until midnight to record their favorite songs on the radio. They then had to move the tape back and forth several times to ensure high-quality recording.

In May 2007, the UK’s largest electronics chain announced that the era of cassette production and sales in the country was over.

In 2010, Sony announced that it was bidding farewell to the Walkman, known as the first portable player in history, after 30 years, and last year music companies decided to produce the album on CD by the end of 2012. They started offering music content only through online stores; however, many people worldwide still use cassette tapes; therefore, it cannot be said that this device is completely dead.

Given the background of this news in my mind and the experience of searching for the depiction of collective memories, I started taking photos of the old cassettes. I decided to re-depict them, to revive a memory in the audience that has not been for a long time.