Hidden Communications
physical, 2017
Special Thanks
Andrew Friend
Sitraka Rakotoniaina

Hidden Communications was developed during a four-week intensive program called School of Machines, Making, and Make-Believe. This project explores the ways in which objects are embedded with subtle forms of communication. Hidden Communications aims to unearth the ways in which objects can affect our behavior and actions through their own behaviors.

Two pieces were made for this project:

Growing Trash
This piece takes the form of a trash can that grows taller whenever it is close to being full. The trash can promotes laziness in its user by adding space when it would otherwise be time to take the trash out.

Unread Cats
Unread Cats takes the form of a chrome extension that populates your gmail with cat videos based on the amount of unread emails you have. This extension instills a laziness in its user by encouraging him or her to not read their emails and watch cat videos instead.

Growing Trash.

Unread Cats.

This trash can appears to be an ordinary trashcan.

Image of the push door of the trash can.

But when it starts to fill, it starts to grow tall.

Trash can has grown twice its height

When you don't read your emails your page becomes covered in cat videos.

that good alt text