Hello Machine

Hello Machine

When you use a Hello Machine, who will you ‘voice visit’ with?

Hello Machines are situated across the globe in ever-changing locations and time zones. Picking up the receiver calls other Hello Machines, creating space for spontaneous voice visiting.

Telecommunications as a technology has a long history of allowing people to develop a level of intimacy with others, not bound by their physical or locational confines. It’s globally weaved wires, afforded creative minds the platform through which to develop the world wide web of relationships we now have with others. When a telephone receiver was first placed in human hands, the first ‘Hello, can you hear me?” was searchingly spoken by someone seeking a connection to a world beyond their own confines. The legacy left by this search to be heard has afforded us a connection to others that we take for granted today.

When technologies reach obsolescence, our relationship with them changes, what never changes though is our need to reach out to others, connect and share. Through using a Hello Machine, you can break free from the confines of your smartphone and connect to others through the wonders of a ‘telephone’. In a world now afflicted with ‘unknown number’ avoidance, users can re-connect to the trepidation of wondering who is on the other end of the line. To date, there are over 60,000 calls within our conversation repository.

Who is going to be there to hear you?

Exhibitions

"HELLO MACHINE…Where have you been?”

Ars Electronica Center - Linz, Austria
Ars Electronica Festival 2017 - Post City, Linz, Austria
Science Gallery - Dublin, Ireland
National Centre for the Blind Ireland, Iona Centre - Dublin, Ireland
Kyoto Institute of Technology - Kyoto, Japan
Volkswagen Drive - Berlin, Germany
Science Gallery Venice - Venice, Italy
M9 Museum - Mestro, Venice, Italy
Ca ‘Foscari University - Venice, Italy
The Venice Biennale, Biennale Carnival 2019 - Venice, Italy
MOD - Adelaide, South Australia 2021
Science Gallery Melbourne - 2022
ArtScience Museum Marina Bay Sands - Singapore 2022


Rachel Hanlon on insta