aerial urn by Laura Blue from australia

Technology is evolving beyond the role of a tool, towards a more fundamental part of existence. To ensure that this evolution is driven towards meaningful experiences, it is important for digital objects to go beyond the superficial, and acknowledge darker, more problematic aspects of being human. Contemplating mortality is essential in defining life, while technology is key in defining contemporary culture. A sense of techno-mysticism has grown from these, seemingly contradictory, but strangely compatible cultural values.
In a response the belief in unexplained phenomenon despite the high value placed on science and technology in today’s society, Aerial Urn creates a technologically and scientifically valid spectral presence.
After the death of a loved one, the bereaved may choose to commemorate the deceased with an Aerial Urn. To do this, a hair sample from the deceased is sent to have whole genome sequencing performed, and an Aerial Urn is purchased. The whole genome data is then sent to the remote server service, who transform the letters of the person’s DNA sequence into a series of musical tones. ‘A’ becomes a middle ‘A’ note, ‘C’ becomes ‘C’, ‘G’ becomes ‘G’, and ‘T’ becomes a high ‘F’ note. The device connects wirelessly to the Internet to receive this data, then the unique series of notes derived from DNA is sent live from the remote device as an FM radio signal. This creates an invisible, intangible field of electromagnetic waves with a diameter of several meters.
The wireless signal, though invisible and intangible, pulses through the domestic space and the bodies of its inhabitants. Therefore, the DNA of the deceased exists in an intangible form within the home.
The bereaved may choose to tune into the FM signal with a regular, domestic FM radio to hear a rapid, seemingly random and never-ending series of musical tones. As the FM signal has a range of only 5 to 10 meters, static or interference may also be heard. This aspect of the device is compatible with belief in EVP, Electronic Voice Phenomenon. EVP is believed to be the voices of the dead heard attempting to communicate with the living, hidden amongst the sound of white noise. Therefore, the device may serve as an opportunity or invitation for this kind of paranormal experience.
Aerial Urn combines the aesthetics of cremation urns, representing the commemorative qualities of the device, and the aesthetics of satellite dishes, to remind the user of the invisible field of the DNA signal. The gloss white slip-cast ceramic exterior of the device presents a contemporary, ornamental appearance, and may be engraved with a personal inscription. Signs of functionality remain ambiguous. The black, fabric coated power cord and antenna prompt thought about what the silent and still device may be doing.
Aerial Urn is a way to remember a loved one that simultaneously acknowledges faith in technology, and the significance of an immaterial, spectral presence.