Lost Lands by design encapsulates our most loud, chaotic, and electrifying moments of the year. In all this motion Preserved Memories offers a glowing moment of stillness, a chance to pause and become present, preserving memories before the weekend slips away.
It asks What is a Lost lands moment you never want to forget? What feeling do you want to hold onto forever?
Preserved Memories takes inspiration from amber, a stone that was once tree sap, dripping and flowing through prehistoric times until it stopped and hardened around something delicate, encasing it forever. Unlike the fossils of the past though, our amber will act as a golden archive for something far more human, our memories. Headbangers are invited to write down their favorite memory at Lost Lands and place it on the structure to be preserved forever.
It’s not just about recording memories though, it's a chance to reflect on your time so far and be present in it before the weekend ends. Letting all the moments and music catch up to you for a second.
As deep laughs and heart to hearts are written and then recorded on the amber, it becomes a collection of all the true emotion and energy Lost Lands brings out in all of us. A mosaic of you and everyone else who came here and felt something too, tying us all together. Reminding us that even as strangers, together we are all collectively, Lost Lands.
So, how does this work?
When Lost Landers walk up to the amber, there will be a sign with a short summery prompting them to write down a memory during the weekend so far they want to keep forever.
At both tables, there will be clear, blank vinyl cling stickers. These stickers will cling to the vinyl panels that make up the Amber structure. They can grab one of the pens mounted to the table and write the moment they would like to share. Then, they can walk over and find a place to put their memory, amongst the others. People are encouraged to walk around the glowing structure and read the small piece of excitement strangers want to preserve.
Preserve Memories is a big structure that looks like two domes overlapping, resembling a drop of tree sap. It reached heights of 8 feet and spans 15 feet long. The foundation is made of curved aluminum sheets, I chose this metal because it heats up less in the sun. The foundation will be bolted together and very sturdy in case of any mishaps.
The dome panels are made up of vinyl sheets. The outermost layer of each panel is made of one, flame retardant piece of clear vinyl which will easy withstand high heats. On the inside, transparent pieces of orange, golden, yellow, and holographic will be pasted on, overlapping and creating a kaleidoscope like effect.
The vinyl is attached to the posts with colored, thick zip ties that will be placed in a thoughtful way as to not stick out and ruin the artwork. There will be metal grommets to feed the tiptoes through on the vinyl and then through a corresponding drilled hole on the aluminum. All the aluminum beams are up and meet at the top around a ring shape.
While in a normal piece of amber, an insect would be fossilized inside; inside these golden domes a dinosaur will encased.
Materials
and Cost
Breakdown
* I've been talking back and forth with paramount about the metal frame fabrication and I need to work out some details in person with them so this is a quote of the absolute highest amount it could cost, meaning there is a high chance it will cost a lot less
Mockups
Click for a closer look!
 This mockup shows how the amber would glow at night. Inside are kaleidoscope lights pointed against the panels that move like waves |  This is what the structure looks like from above |  This mockup shows how the dome would look during the day in the sun. It casts big orange shadows all over like stained glass windows |
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 This is my drawing I made in procreate that all the realistic mock ups are based off of |
Technical Drawings
Double click to view
 If you are viewing this on July 16th I will have an official CAD drawing with dimensions by the end of the day today! It ended up being harder to get done then I thought so this is just the bigger dome shape |  |  These are some math calculations for the big dome |
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 These are some math calculations for the same dome |
Here you can scroll through the evolution of all my sketches and see my thought process, at the end of the slides are the official mockups!
Extras
While creating all of these plans, I had a couple ideas that I think could make the installation really special and memorable. I really want to include them in my proposal, but if they don’t align with your plans and you like my main installation piece on its own, it can stand alone without these extra ideas!
Beyond the installation
The installation allows people to preserve a memory and capture it at lost lands, but to me these memories and feelings go beyond just the installation. At the end of lost lands, or if the surface begins to get completely covered, I plan to take all of the sticky notes with me. I’m going to transport them in 3 ring binders by clinging them to clear binder organizers. I think that we have a chance to turn these moments into something more.
My most prominent idea is to scan them and then I can design a coffee table book with a lot of the entries. This would feature many moments with different photos and designs scattered throughout. I know you guys have photographers and drones that you take neat photos with throughout the festival and I think it would be neat to feature some. Maybe some pages featuring really unique outfits or elaborate Kandie pieces. Among the Headbangers’ memories we could include some memories that the artists would write which I think people would really enjoy looking at!
People always rewatch their concert videos to listen to the sets again, but looking through this would bring back the feeling of lost lands to people at home. If the book was sold a couple of months afterwards it would be a great way to get people nostalgic and excited for Lost Lands 2026!
If this doesn’t fit in with your business, some other ideas I think would be special is creating a video montage, poster, or just pictures. I could create different graphics with memories and you can use it as content for instagram throughout the year. I think people would love reading them and it would really build the Lost Lands community!
Throwback Set
Since the installation revolves around memories it got me thinking about nostalgia, and how everyone is always asking for a throw back set… What better place is there for a throw back set than inside the memories dome! Basically we could wheel out the dinosaur easily one night and put up a rail around the dome. Then an artist could come and DJ from inside the dome, performing a quick secret throwback set!
I know that you guys like to have secret side quests and I thought this would be a really fun idea. If it would be too hard to execute, I also thought of maybe just sticking a little hint inside there. Or you could write it on one of the vinyl stickers on the domes, of course only if you guys happen to already have a secret surprise planned.
