tweet2hold

Synopsis

tweet2hold is an art project that asks strangers to share a secret about the future via Twitter. Responses are converted into a unique paper keepsake through a sophisticated combination of technology and graphic design. Over the course of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, tweet2hold will create a volery of tweets in order to defang the power of secrecy. tweet2hold will also serve to visualize the experience of information overload. Inspired by a growing trend toward creating a physical manifestation of a digital experience, tweet2hold converts a short piece of ephemeral communication into a permanent physical object. tweet2hold leverages the sophisticated analysis engine of Lymbix to analyze the emotional tone of each secret in order to determine an appropriate colour palette and font. And by using the @reply feature of Twitter, tweet2hold offers a playful flirtation with notions of public and private by hiding secrets in plain sight. tweet2hold is a project that embraces bird metaphors, especially the birdcage (volery) and makes sly allusions to “a bird of the air shall carry the voice” and “a little bird told me.” And by creating an art installation comprised of thousands of paper birds carrying secrets across their wings, tweet2hold subtly references the menacing power of birds as seen in the climatic final scene of the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds. Technical Lead: Pearl Chen Contributors: Terry Lau: Designer John Guppy: Origami Katie Sawatsky: Folding Illustration Patrick Roy: Lymbix Technician Josh Merchant: Lymbix Technician Heather Ritchie: Lymbix Marketing Patrick Dinnen: Lymbix Assistance Matt Gorbet David Bouchard