What's Left

As a child, there were few things as exciting, filling me with anticipation, as the moment I returned home, racing directly to the answering machine to find— a blinking red light signaling unheard voice messages. I would save my favorite messages to cassette tapes and listen to them over and over. The innocent excitement over the years has given way to a deep gratitude of re-hearing the immortalized voices of loved ones now gone.

I cherish the antiquated, almost nostalgic intimacy of this technology. What speed and efficiency we’ve gained with texting and email, we’ve lost some warmth and humanity of the voice. These audio messages offer windows into stories full of emotion, humor, pleasure, and pain. You can hear the joy. You can feel the love.

This project is an attempt to reconnect and reclaim this intimacy for myself and for others. That’s why I’d like your photo and voice to be a part of this installation. I urge you take a few moments to leave a message and post a photo for someone you want to say something to, but don’t have the chance to anymore. This is an opportunity to say something you have always wanted to say.

Thank you for sharing.