Quiet, and Sometimes Silent

Viola He
Portrait of Viola He

Portrait of Viola He. Photographed by Alon Koppel Photography. (Aug 27, 2023)

Portrait of Viola He

Portrait of Viola He. Photographed by Alon Koppel Photography. (Aug 27, 2023)

Portrait of Viola He in residence at Wave Farm

Portrait of Viola He in residence at Wave Farm. Photographed by Alon Koppel Photography. (Aug 27, 2023)

Prototype of He's LoRa devices

Prototype of He's LoRa devices. Photographed by Alon Koppel Photography. (Aug 27, 2023)

Transmission between He's prototypes

Transmission between He's prototypes. Photographed by Alon Koppel Photography. (Aug 27, 2023)

Viola He in the Wave Farm forest

Viola He in the Wave Farm forest. Photographed by Alon Koppel Photography. (Aug 27, 2023)

Quiet, and Sometimes Silent is a participatory experience that explores proximity, intimacy, and subtle communication. Consisting of two soft head pieces equipped with flapping and buzzing mechanisms and a fabric speaker, the experience asks one participant at a time to put on the device, as does the He, from a certain distance away. The wearable pieces talk to each other through LoRa, a wireless protocol that enables small data-packet transmissions using a free, hobbyist radio frequency. As the participants approach each other, lightly touch their own head piece in different ways, the other person's piece will morph into different shapes – flapping, shrinking, producing buzzing sensations and movements. Together, two people create a unique soundscape for each other to experience while turning themselves into mutating sculptures, assisting them to communicate with nonverbal subtlety. This project draws correlation between protocols outside of heavily surveilled mass superstructures and the state of acquainted human relationships, exploring the idea that small movements and sporadic data exchange can resemble our loose social connections with the people around us.

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