Sound has become a treasured, expressive resource during the silence of COVID-19. Stranger Sounds is a speculative proposal to address loneliness at a time when both connection amongst strangers and sound production by humans are at record lows. 

 

I wanted to create a microphone and speaker that fit comfortably within the setting of a dining room table. This way, clanking of silverware and other movements in the room are transmitted to a stranger, and from there, that stranger’s sounds to another and so on. A web of transmission is created.

 

By sharing the ambient sounds of one’s dining experience with strangers, one might find solace in sensory awareness and another human being’s small company.