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You have been warned
On The Secret Life of Things by Steffen Hartwig

 

It only takes a brief glance around your living room to realise that electronic products have become indispensable in our modern life.

From the refrigerator, the air conditioning, the washing machine, to the computer and the smartphone we all carry with us, our social habits are dominated by electronic products. They have also infiltrated our living style. An example might be how we pick up the phone and expect to be able to talk to anyone anywhere, or when we set our washing machine timer and expect to have clean clothes waiting for when we return home. To us, the fulfilment of these expectations is as simple as boiling a pot of water.

However, as we enjoy these conveniences, have we ever spent the time to understand how these electronic products operate? Why do we trust products of which we know nothing? Shouldn’t we fear that one day, machines will have the power to disrupt our way of living? The consideration of all these queries might be the warnings that Steffen Hartwig hopes to bring to our table.

“On The Secret Life of Things” is an art project by the German artist, Steffen HartwigIn the project, he has used coding to reprogram various electronic products, including phones, extension cables, computers, door intercoms, and vending machines. Even though their appearance looks ordinary, Hartwig has completely altered their functions. The monitor of the door intercom, which he calls “LAR”, has become an internet device which determines an allowable IP address. The vending machine which he calls “KAIROS” displays the line “I would prefer not to” when one puts a coin in it; and the extension cable, which he calls “PLUTOS”, supplies power only when the German DAX stock index is performing well.

Readers who have paid attention would have noticed that the device names in “On The Secret Life of Things” can be traced back to Western myths and legends. The name “PLUTOS” is the god of wealth in Greek mythology. He was blinded by Zeus, causing him to distribute wealth randomly. This reference sarcastically infers the artist’s choice of relating the extension cable’s operation to the movement of stock; the extension cable only supplies power when the market shows an increase in financial growth. Hartwig injects these mythological symbols into current life scenarios as contemporary fables to warn the modern world of our device dependance.