Cape Town 2000.
the lovephones
The Lovephones is a public art project which was previously carried out in Cape Town, South Africa, (April-September 2000) and then later in London (October 2000-June 2001). The project involves collecting true stories of love from residents in a specific area. Participants are found, via adverts in magazines, newspapers and radio stations, to narrate anonymously a true personal account of a relationship which has flourished somewhere in the city.
The stories are documented with sound and video. In the second phase of the project the edited stories are presented via simple installations which make use of public and private telephones. Using a computer and a voice modem, phones are made to ring in various parts of the city. When a passer-by picks up the phone, the love-story begins to play.
At the core of the project is the value of intimate communication, and how people will respond given the opportunity to share something truly personal and possibly secret. The project tries to create an awareness that we are surrounded by individuals each with a personal connection to past events and relationships which affect the way we relate to the present.
The Lovephones is a public art project which was previously carried out in Cape Town, South Africa, (April-September 2000) and then later in London (October 2000-June 2001). The project involves collecting true stories of love from residents in a specific area. Participants are found, via adverts in magazines, newspapers and radio stations, to narrate anonymously a true personal account of a relationship which has flourished somewhere in the city.
The stories are documented with sound and video. In the second phase of the project the edited stories are presented via simple installations which make use of public and private telephones. Using a computer and a voice modem, phones are made to ring in various parts of the city. When a passer-by picks up the phone, the love-story begins to play.
At the core of the project is the value of intimate communication, and how people will respond given the opportunity to share something truly personal and possibly secret. The project tries to create an awareness that we are surrounded by individuals each with a personal connection to past events and relationships which affect the way we relate to the present.