Instruments of convenience / Instruments of surveillance

Smart appliances are becoming ubiquitous. They promise making life efficient, convenient, effortlessly responsive to our needs. Nonetheless, they have an unspoken dark side: they envelope us in invisible radio fields that feel our every action and movement, because the water in our bodies inevitably interferes with their wireless signals. This produces troves of data coveted by Big Tech, advertisers, law enforcement, the surveillance industry, and other sinister actors.

Using a sophisticated bleeding-edge sensing system developed by the artist, this augmented reality environment creates immersive sound echoing how smart devices sense human bodies around them. It enables visitors to perform a touchless musical instrument, while offering a glimpse into a dystopian near future thus acting as a lens for deeper socio-political inquiry.