︎

Lauren Lee McCarthy


Info︎

LAUREN works
  1. LAUREN
  2. SOMEONE
  3. LAUREN Portable
  4. Exhibition: What can I do for you?
  5. Exhibition: You Can Say
  6. The Changing Room
  7. Waking Agents
  8. I.A. Suzie

Saliva works
  1. Exhibition: Bodily Autonomy (Saliva Bar)
  2. Saliva Retreat
  3. Saliva
  4. Are You the Perfect Specimen?
  5. Testing

Surrogate works
  1. Surrogate
  2. Exhibition: Data Relations
  3. Exhibition: Reproduction Otherwise
  4. Surrogate Performance
  5. Womb Walk

Autonomous works
  1. Voice In My Head
  2. Driverless
  3. Unlearning Language
  4. HOST
  5. Seeing Voices

Muted works
  1. Exhibition: I Heard Talking Is Dangerous
  2. Muted
  3. I heard TALKING IS DANGEROUS
  4. Good Night
  5. Good Morning
  6. What do you want me to say?
  7. Sleepover
  8. Later Date
  9. Appreciate You

Other recent works
  1. Follower
  2. Social Turkers
  3. Vibe Check
  4. I’m glad you asked
  5. Autoreply
  6. pplkpr
  7. us+

Teaching & pedagogy
  1. p5.js
  2. Open Source Software Toolkits for the Arts Report
  3. Web We Want (W3C TPAC)
  4. Smarter Home
  5. Network Media
  6. Performing User
  7. Senior Capstone
  8. Disability, Design, and the Web
  9. Interactivity
  10. Conversation & Computation
  11. Social Hacking
  12. Critical APIs
  13. Computational Media
  14. Introduction to Programming for the Visual Arts (Free online course)

Archive
  1. Beyond the Breakdown
  2. How We Act Together
  3. Wake Words
  4. Friend Crawl
  5. Welcomer
  6. M/WITM
  7. The Changing Room: Brisbane
  8. Social Soul
  9. You Can Say
  10. Tools for Improved Social Interacting
  11. Inactive Account Manager
  12. Facebook Mood Manipulator
  13. LOVEINT
  14. SCRIPT

Mark

I heard TALKING IS DANGEROUS



artist stands with arm outstretched holding phone toward another woman on her doorstep
view over artists shoulder of couple on doorstep
man dressed in black holds phone with word safer
artist stands in front of man dressed in black, dogs barking at house in background

artist watches as woman holds phone with word endless on it


I heard talking is dangerous black text on gray background. Smaller text reads a screening performance. Limited run, now taking reservations. I will come to your home. I kindly ask that you wear a mask and stay 6 feet away.
masked in a dark room with phone that has alive in white text on black backgroundPerformance at Unsound Festival, Liquid Architecture

Feeling completely disconnected, I created I heard TALKING IS DANGEROUS trying to break through. Showing up on doorsteps, I deliver a monologue via phone screen and text-to-speech. I explain that I just heard masks and six feet are not safe enough. They’ve recommended we stop talking to each other, they say talking is dangerous. So I made an alternative. Is there really safety in distance?

I invite each person to visit a URL on their phone to continue the conversation. We proceed, discussing danger, safety, the future. That feeling of never knowing what is safe. Who you can safely engage with. How we find connection. Wanting more.

Part of a series of works trying to find a way through this year. What have we learned to say via screen in these months apart? What have we learned to avoid? How do we reach each other?

Photography by Kat Kaye. Special thanks to Evelyn Masso, Leah Wardel, Samantha Culp, Joel Kelly, David Leonard, Qianqian Ye, Harvey Moon.