Referring to our discussion of the interrelationship between practice and theory, we now turn to an essential aspect of our project: the material change that occurs during the digitization process.
Digitization is not a copying of material things, but rather a reorganization of their materiality (Drucker, 2013). Our Voyager project transforms a soft embroidered plush toy of Totoro into a 3D-rendered, screen-based thing, redefining not just its shape, but also its perceptual and cultural significance. Where the softness, weight, and texture of the plush toy constitute its materiality, the digital model flattens these into data points. In the process, the question is brought into sharp relief: What is lost, and what is gained when things get digitized?
Drucker (2013) emphasizes that digital things are performative, being shaped by the affordances of the medium on which they exist. In Voyager, the digital materiality of Totoro can be zoomed, rotated, and annotated, creating a kind of interactive experience that a real-life museum object might not. However, Elkhuizen et al. (2024) point out that while digital representations allow for easier access, they also complicate the physicality of the object, limiting sensory interaction to a predominantly visual one. We experience this most clearly in the ethnic clothing of the Dai people on our Totoro plushie; the woven texture, delicate embroidery, and materiality of the culture become pixel-based approximations, prompting us to consider how the identity of the artifact is tied to its materiality. Also, Forlini and Hinrichs (2017) analyze the concept of synesthetic visualization, arguing that digital representations can't fully capture the multi-sensory interaction of real artifacts. In this project, even if users can see the colors and patterns of Totoro, they can't touch the texture of the cloth or the shape of the material, showing the underlying tension of digital materiality: Does digitization make culture more accessible, or does it further alienate us from actual material experience?
Finally, our work reveals the two sides of digital materiality: it extends Totoro’s cultural reach and simultaneously recontextualizes his haptic authenticity. Rather than viewing digitalization as a neutral act, our work suggests a recontextualization that encourages critical reflection on experience in the digital age.