fits nicely in the palm

The mobile phone I got from Maureen Martin had a nice natural quality to it, almost like if it was a seed pod or nut, or a stone polished by the sea, rather than a high-tech gadget. I wanted to take advantage of this natural beauty of the object, while retaining the corrupting and addictive qualities of modern communications. I decided to make a metaphor with mimicry in nature, to suggest the sticky hiding in the smooth and shiny.

sensitive antennas always aware

One of the nicest qualities of this mobile phone was the way it unfolded, snapping up decisively but smoothly, held shut by a magnet and not by some clunky plastic lock. I found the opening and closing of the pebble seductive, but can you really trust an object that tries to seduce you? It made me think of William S. Burroughs literary love for roaches and bugs, and things that are not what they seem.

the innards of nature are even more complicated than the hearts of technology

Object no. 34