Red Paper Heart was commissioned by the Future of Storytelling to submit an installation idea as part of the Sensory Stories exhibit at the Museum of Moving Image. The exhibit addresses storytelling possibilities of using the 5 senses. Our submission, “Hidden Stories,” explores the secret lives of inanimate objects and the power of listening.

We asked ourselves, if people had the the ability to hear through walls, what would they find? Then we created special wallpaper that was embedded with stories from real people. Every graphic shape in the wallpaper links to a different personal story about an object.

The stories are revealed with a custom made “listening device” that reacts to sensors embedded in the wall. The cup shaped device is the digital equivalent of pressing a glass against an apartment wall to spy on neighbors. Using the device on each object activates a unique story, and lights up the drawing with projection mapping. Over time the wall fills with light as users listen to the stories within.

By placing the device over the record sensor, the speaker becomes a microphone and the user can leave behind their own story.

The 22 unique stories in this exhibit were contributed by Jay Allison and Viki Merrick of Atlantic Public Media (the same group responsible for The Moth, This I Believe, and other amazing storytelling programs).

Hidden Stories was exhibited as part of the Sensory Stories Exhibition:

April 13 to July 26 2015 at Museum of the Moving Image, New York City, USA

August 11 to September 27, 2015 at Phi Centre, Montreal, Canada