Work
We're All Strangers Here
Maker Hitcher Encounters · Work date 2021-01-31 · Medium telephone · Role work
Description
In the midst of a time when travelling feels a distant memory, We’re All Strangers Here takes you back to when you could be; a solo cyclist; an adventurist on the hippie trail; a couch surfer; a nomad and two first-time travellers. Inspired by the stories of real hitchhikers and travellers we invite you to fall into the shoes of six strangers, uncover the stories of entangled lives through their journeys away from home. This is just the beginning… We're All Strangers Here is a series of four binaural immersive audio experiences and a live phone call. Put on your headphones and find yourself transported from your home to Pakistan, France, the USA and Mexico via land and sky. In a new country, with an unfamiliar language, how much faith would you have in strangers? How do we experience the beauty of human connection when we are more disconnected than ever? Do we really know each other
Source. No published description found.
Anatomy
Thirteen criteria after Lauren R. Beck. Each carries a source grade: M maker-confirmed, P published, F first-hand, I inferred by the compiler, ? not yet established. Definitions are on the anatomy page.
- Participants listen through headphonesyesP
“Put on your headphones” — the binaural audio experiences require them.
- Participants move through space as part of the worknoI
The participant is “transported from your home” by the audio; no physical relocation is asked for.
- Audio technology is necessaryyesP
Four binaural audio experiences plus a live phone call — removing the sound device ends the work.
- Site-, situation- or language-specificnoI
No location, named circumstance or language is required of the participant; the countries are inside the recordings.
- Engages with the history of a sitenoI
Content draws on real travellers’ stories but references whole countries rather than documented events of a specific identifiable site.
- Created for an urban environmentnoI
Home listening plus a phone call presupposes devices, not city density.
- Created as an artwork other than theateryesI
Framed as “a series of four binaural immersive audio experiences” — sound art / audio production rather than theater.
- Intended to be understood as theaterunknown?
The listing uses “experiences” and “invite you” with no theatrical vocabulary, which does not settle the question.
Did you experience this? Tell us - Accidental real-world sights and sounds are importantnoI
Binaural recordings supply a complete audio world that would play identically anywhere, including a soundproof booth.
- Spectator must participateunknown?
The four audio pieces are listened to, but a live phone call is also included and whether it requires the participant to act is not stated.
Did you experience this? Tell us - Has live performers other than the participantsyesP
The package explicitly includes “a live phone call.”
- Involves game playnoI
No rules, objective or resolution state are described.
- Uses props other than the listening deviceunknown?
Beyond headphones, no materials are mentioned.
Did you experience this? Tell us
3 of thirteen are still unknown for this work. If you experienced it, you can settle them in a minute.