If walls could speak

Ann Li (MDes ‘24)

What traces of our digital presence are unintentionally left behind, and how might they take on a life of their own? 

If walls could speak gives form to contradictions between the transient, yet indelible, nature of our digital footprint. As the divide between cyberspace and reality blurs, the disembodiment of data raises questions around what it means for the origin–and transmission–of information to be untraceable. The spillage of digital technologies beyond the screen is inevitable, whether we perceive it or not. Despite this, we expect networked technologies to behave in certain assumed ways– ways that, when subverted, create a deep sense of unease.

When our private thoughts and conversations inadvertently leak; when our every move is observed, documented, and predicted; when we gain access to the most intimate aspects of others’ lives; when representations and recordings of our past selves haunt us from beyond their time– using the power of sound to mediate connection over time and space, If walls could speak explores these ambient presences and aims to revive ghostly digital pasts imprinted within these walls.