Click Project Link Below
Click Project Link Below
The Secret Life of Lena Victoria Wiggins (2021)
Date: Fall 2021
Medium:
Medium:
AI-Animated Archival Photography
đź“˝ Experimental Documentary (Video)
Immersive Sound Design & Voice Reconstruction
Mixed-Media Digital Storytelling
đź“˝ Experimental Documentary (Video)
Immersive Sound Design & Voice Reconstruction
Mixed-Media Digital Storytelling
Overview
The Secret Life of Lena Victoria Wiggins is a multimedia project that reanimates archival photographs using AI-driven motion technology, integrating original voice recordings to create an immersive exploration of family history, resilience, and migration.
The project follows Lena Victoria Wiggins' journey from early 20th-century England to Canada, tracing the challenges of war, displacement, and rebuilding a new life.
By merging historical photographs, AI animation, and digitally reconstructed voices, the work challenges the static nature of archives, transforming history into a living, evolving narrative. The project interrogates how digital interventions reshape memory and historical truth, questioning the ethics of AI-generated historical reconstructions.
Concept & Inspiration
âś…This project engages with archival storytelling, speculative memory, and digital intervention, drawing influence from:
Bill Morrison (Decasia) – His experimental use of decaying archival footage highlights the fragility of memory, a theme echoed in the restored and animated archival images.
Hito Steyerl (How Not to Be Seen) – Her critique of digital media circulation informs the project’s use of AI-enhanced animation to question historical authenticity.
Marianne Hirsch (Postmemory) – Her concept of postmemory frames the project’s exploration of inherited historical narratives, reconstructed through digital storytelling.
Lev Manovich (The Language of New Media) – His research into digital media aesthetics and database narratives informs the project’s use of archival reconstruction and algorithmic intervention.
âś…Â Key Questions Explored:
What happens when we animate the past?
How does AI influence our perception of historical truth?
Process (Step-by-Step Breakdown)
âś…AI-Driven Animation & Voice Synthesis
Used Revive AI to animate static archival photographs, creating subtle facial movements and naturalistic expressions.
Integrated original recorded voice, digitally processed to enhance immersion and emotional depth.
âś…Archival Research & Image Restoration
 Collected historical photographs, letters, and census records to reconstruct Lena Victoria Wiggins’ life story.
Restored damaged or aged photographs using Photoshop for image enhancement and texture refinement.
âś…Video Production & Sound Design
Combined animated archival images and found footage with documentary-style storytelling, blending motion graphics with historical context.
Designed an original soundscape, incorporating war sounds, ambient recordings, and layered compositions to enhance immersion and emotional depth.
Role and Collaboration
âś… Was this a solo or collaborative project?
This was a fully independent project, with all aspects—including AI animation, archival research, image restoration, sound design, and video production—conceptualized and executed by me.
Media & Technical Tools Used
âś… AI Animation & Image Processing
Revive AI – AI-driven animation for subtle facial movement and naturalistic expression in archival portraits.
Photoshop – Image restoration, upscaling, and texture refinement.
âś… Video Editing & Composition
Adobe Premiere Pro – Structured the narrative, integrated AI-enhanced visuals, and completed final composition.
DaVinci Resolve – Applied color grading to archival materials for visual consistency.
Final Thoughts & Ethical Considerations
âś… What did this project reveal about digital memory?
Reinforced how AI-driven storytelling reshapes historical narratives, but also raised critical ethical concerns about the manipulation of memory and authenticity.
The use of voice reconstruction and AI-enhanced animation blurred the line between archival preservation and speculative fiction, forcing reflection on how history is mediated through emerging technologies.
âś… What would you improve or change if you revisited it?
✔ Incorporate interactive elements – Allow viewers to engage dynamically with the archive.
✔ Expand the project with additional historical records – Explore multigenerational narratives using AI-enhanced oral histories.
✔ Further research AI ethics in historical storytelling – Address questions of consent and representation when working with digitally resurrected figures.
✔ Expand the project with additional historical records – Explore multigenerational narratives using AI-enhanced oral histories.
✔ Further research AI ethics in historical storytelling – Address questions of consent and representation when working with digitally resurrected figures.
