Devices employing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) are poised to enter our lives in many public and commercial spheres. They can work passively and automatically, and are being included in some new US passports and all new UK passports. Many mass transit, product tracking, and animal ID systems use them extensively.
space.media.art presents five artists working with RFID in the public sphere this month in Tagged:
“In this exhibition, the artist collaborative Louis-Philippe Demers and Philippe Jean are working with local shop Hollywood Convenience electronically tagging their grocery items to produce the artwork iTag. Using a portable music device, available to pick up from the exhibition, shoppers can listen to music generated from the grocery aisles.
RealSnailMail is a project in development by boredomresearch, using RFID technology to enable real snails to carry and deliver electronic messages on their own time, despite growing expectations of instant communication.
Mute-Dialogue (Yasser Rashid and Yara El-Sherbini)have created the interactive installation Origins and Lemons. Arranged as an East End market stall the installation invites you to pick up RFID-tagged items and scan them to receive clues as to their history and origin.
In SWAPOId, evoLhypergrapHyCx (C6) implement RFID technology in the Antisystemic Distributed Library Project, an alternative library of shared books, videos, and music with venues in community centres and bedrooms worldwide, and through this acting as but one site of resistance against a de-humanising, de-dimensional agenda.
Arphield Recordings by Paula Roush records the sound of citizens scanning their Oyster cards in London Underground stations, and outputs them in live performance, installation and public intervention.”
(via Tagged press release)
Update: Regine at we-make-money-not-art also posted about the snails — and it looks like the snail mail website is actually running. Unfortunately, no snails are involved at this point, but you can still send a message to be delivered by snail that will help them test their tech.
