Tin Tales, 2014

Tin Tales documentation, 1:38 min

Tin Tales was an interactive installation produced in collaboration with Stacy Calvert. Recalling a childhood game, participants spoke to each other through tin can "telephones." They were separated but connected by a line between the cans that they had to work together to keep taught. The telephones were amplified with contact microphones, which lent a tinny,  old-time radio quality to the sound and allowed an audience to be privy to the intimate conversation. Tin Tales took place in a narrow hallway at the Communications building at Southern Illinois University, and volunteers  drew prompts and told stories about school experiences while the audience squeezed into the small space to observe.