Prototype/Outcome

If walls could speak is an installation of 2 parts– a panel of walls with hidden RFID tags embedded within or behind it, and an “enchanted” tech-enabled cup equipped with an RFID sensor, microcontroller, DF Player Mini, amplifier, potentiometer, speaker, and battery. Each RFID tag ID links to a unique mp3 sample, with 13 tags adding up to 5 minutes of audio total. These audio recordings were sourced from across the world, either from personal archived memos or from consenting friends and acquaintances. The contents of each audio sample range from lighthearted cafe conversations, to deeply personal heart-to-hearts, to cathartic tell-alls, intended to reflect the variable, personal, unpredictable nature of leaked digital presences. Because of the sensitive nature of this content, all voices were altered in Adobe Audition, a distortion that was intensified through the lofi effect of the bone conductor transducers used.