Pst! Physical Space Tweets
Sunday, November 1st, 2009Pst! Brief:
Physical Space Tweets are small storytellers that are installed in public spaces giving their audiences a glimpse into someone else’s life or a window into a topic feed. Using the open source Arduino electronic prototyping platform, the internet, and an LCD screen these small devices visually chirp out 140 character Twitter feeds. This project places verbal content and technology into a new space for an un-targetted audience by extending the space where interaction occurs. The screen and hardware mimic miniature advertising billboards but discuss and distribute life feeds. They are physical messengers for a passing audience.
The project stems from my current art practice where I am developing creative acts of identity placemaking within the digital domain. It has a few phases, starting with the device design which is currently in progress, then the dissemination of the ‘physical tweeters’ to new spaces, and third the rolling out of a ‘twitterer in residence’ programme, and eventually the development of a site where people can find instructions to make their own devices and see the archive of residencies.
The device creatively and geographically locates a message where it may not belong. The project encourages interaction and the freedom to make new Pst! devices and submit for residencies. It brings attention to the messenger’s practice/work/emotions/research by showcasing a life stream in the public domain. While this is simply done on the internet by watching Twitter feeds from the screen of a computer these tiny displays sit out in the open, fixed in their own non-space focusing on the single message that changes with each update slowly threading a narrative together for those who pass it or providing a one off message to inform or confuse.
