where something is always listening

Speaker wire was laid in the perimeter of the room where the wall meets the floor.

Typically, conductive wire is used to bridge a signal, but in this instance, the attempt was to use the speaker wire to simulate a room size antennae.

With so much wire without any shielding to dampen unwanted noise, the signal provided to the amplifier is made up entirely of electrical interference.

Radio transmittions, magnetic fields produced by lighting systems, electrical motors, and even radar signals can find their way into this room.

This wire is exposed to all of it.

where something is always listening, 2015

Herbs from the meadow, water, glass jar, wood, cardboard, glue, milk paint, electrical cable, infrared proximity sensor, tactile transducer, amplifier, polystyrene foam packaging, unshielded speaker wire, clear vinyl tape, ring terminals, and screws

This piece takes its title from a line in a poem by Marie Howe.

Detritus from the installation remains as part of this piece.

A tactile transducer is installed inside the pedestal to reproduce sound frequencies, some beneath the range of human hearing.

A simple infrared light switch is used as a proximity sensor.

Any movement within the sensor’s range activates this installation.

The foam that the amplifier came packed with makes a suitable fixture.

While attending SFAI, I received mentorship from poet, Genine Lentine. During that time, I picked up the craft of gardening, and over the years, we gradually transformed a mostly abandoned field into a thriving green space.

Photo of the meadow with poppies in the foreground, 2015

Here’s a short film about the meadow shot over several days in August 2020. It was featured in an online exhibition hosted by the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Orbits of Known and Unknown Objects, exploring the legacy of the San Francisco Art Institute on the occasion of its 150th anniversary.

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