Archaeology of Silicon2024
Two-channel video installation, generated from a photogrammetric archive of 22 phone booths
Variable duration
On one hand, the phone booth raises questions about the turn from a model of accessible, communal telecommunications —conceived as an essential public service— to one that is private and individualized, shaped by the technoliberal dynamics of Silicon Valley. This transition not only alters how we communicate but also underscores a broader change in the organization of urban space, moving away from collective aspirations toward individualizing logics.
On the other hand, the booth serves as an element to thinking-with the swirl of heterogeneous temporalities that define our digital age. During the time they remained on our streets, phone booths could be seen as remnants of an era that has not entirely disappeared but instead haunts contemporary ways of living in a ghostly manner.
In the piece, the booths emerge and vanish within a dense, fluctuating fog that we navigate as best we can. Among the haze are faint colored lights that might illuminate a path forward —or perhaps simply serve as beacons, drawing us toward whichever glow shines brightest—.