When you see a USB drive randomly sticking out of a wall, the last thing you’d think of would probably be an anonymous file sharing network, but that’s exactly what this project is all about. Started 4-years-ago by Berlin-based media artist Aram Bartholl, “Dead Drops” encompasses a wide variety of file types, including movies, games, television shows, comics, family videos, photos and even art projects. To partake in “Dead Drops”, you need to first find or create a hole in a wall, crack open the USB drive, wrap it in waterproof tape and then place it in the hole, with only the port exposed. To ensure that it doesn’t fall out, use fast-setting concrete to cement the stick into the crack or hole. The largest capacity drive so far was is located in Sydney – a 120GB drive installed by a Chinese exchange student. Continue reading for a video, more information and a link to the Dead Drops database page.
Bartholl says: “It’s about making people think about how we live online and how we live as social beings. It’s to have people think about relations, what we do online every day, and how things have changed over the past 10 years (since 9/11). And, it somehow turns the whole building into a drive. I think it’s attractive for large groups of people because it has the air of spying but also geo caching. It’s about making people think about how we live online and how the internet is changing the whole sphere of how we live as human beings. Database page.
