Proposal for Bus Lines
This speculative proposal connects bus shelters through a tin-can telephone system to transmit the vibrations and presence of strangers. To engage with the work, viewers must physically walk along the exterior of the room to read a narrative text-drawing:
"To my left, an empty aluminum can rolls and clanks with conviction. To my right, streams of vehicles zip by, brushing my shoulders with delayed gusts. Rattling as if it were talking on the phone while walking, the can finally rests against the backdrop of the bustling city, facing me. At a standstill, with a white plastic bag drifting by, I silently stare at the empty can as though we were both waiting for a response. I picture the can as a tin can telephone. But before I could imagine a stranger on the other end of the string, the can had already rolled away, taken by the forces of the city as if it had somewhere else to go, and someone else to attend to."
Inside, two maquettes connected by a nylon string literalize this narrative. By treating public infrastructure as a site for acoustic connection, the installation suggests how the city's transit lines might facilitate communal interaction beyond mere movement.
Materials: Aluminum, Wood, Plexiglass, LED Strip Lights, Nylon String, Spotlight, and Graphite
