Hatebox is a working name for a piece in my ongoing research project Objects of Human Intervention, which revolves around the idea of human tech-dependancy.
Recordings of real online threats are played back at viewers approaching the device. I am studying ways to present this particular aspect of online culture in ways that make these isolated virtual scenarios personal to an audience. My current direction recontextualizes the original message and shifts the focus from the original victim to any potential bystander.
Formally the aim of this work in progress is to elicit conversation about user-machine relationships in the contemporary technological landscape, specifically in regards to our reliance on and trust in technological products.
This is an advanced prototype of a possible iteration for an installation project about online identity but the final form of this piece and a possible adaptation for public space has yet to be determined.
The current prototype exists in two versions, one running in MAX-MSP with a Kinect sensor and another running in Processing and Arduino with a regular IR sensor.