Embroidered confessions: an interactive quilt of the secrets of strangers

Abstract

The condition of anonymity creates a private space within a public space as a person feels the freedom to act without attribution. This phenomenon holds true in both physical and digital spaces. People feel free to post their most intimate secrets on the Internet with the belief that their confessions are ephemeral and intangible. In reality, this data is perpetually archived and cached on distant servers. A disconnect exists between the perception of the transitory quality of digital data and the truth of its enduring existence. Through the weaving of the stories and secrets of strangers from the Internet into a material artifact, Embroidered Confessions represents the physical manifestation of the duality of digital information.