Hello World! or: How I Learned to Stop Listening and Love the Noise is an immersive, large-scale audio visual installation comprised of thousands of unique video diaries gathered from the Internet. The project is a meditation on the contemporary plight of democratic, participative media and the fundamental human desire to be heard.

Christopher Baker engages with his work often the rich collection of social, technological and ideological networks present in the urban landscape. Read also more about him and his creations in an earlier article posted on the Warmenhoven & Venderbos blog here.

On one hand, new media technologies like YouTube have enabled new speakers at an alarming rate. On the other hand, no new technologies have emerged that allow us to listen to all of these new public speakers. Each video consists of a single lone individual speaking candidly to a (potentially massive) imagined audience from a private space such as a bedroom, kitchen, or dorm room. The multi-channel sound composition glides between individuals and the group, allowing viewers to listen in on unique speakers or become immersed in the cacophony. Viewers are encouraged to dwell in the space.

Recently the Hello World audio visual installation was also used as backdrop for an interesting special on Swiss Television (Schweizer Fernsehen) called:  special Kulturplatz Extra report. This TV special focused on the theme: “Living with the computer: blessing or curse?” The reports range from the hippie roots of personal computing in silicon valley, to robot therapy for the elderly. 

Photos,video and source: Christopher Baker | Vimeo | Kulturplatz Extra