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Visitors interact with photo booth installation

Two unusual installations on exhibit!

I developed two interactive installations for the new exhibition Sarpe Diem – a Century of Museums and People at Borgarsyssel Museum in Sarpsborg: a phone booth and a photo booth.

Photo of exhibition space
Photo courtesy of Hedvig Kolboholen

Sarpe Diem is a nostalgic trip through the history of Sarpsborg during the last century. Beautiful photographs and artifacts are transformed into time capsules that tell the narrative of our city’s growth since the turn of the century.

The exhibition encourages participants to reflect what exactly does it mean to live in a city? Is it because of the architecture, the streets, the history, the people? Or is it a mix of all of the above?

Phone Booth

The Phone booth installation has 10 telephones, each of which represents a different decade. Visitors are encouraged to make use of the telephones in order to listen to music from the time period being celebrated.

durability, Adafruit2133, Sound FX Audio PCBs were an obvious choice for the project.
Because of its compact size, cheap cost, built-in amplifier, and durability, Adafruit2133, Sound FX Audio PCBs were an obvious choice for the project.

Putting the telephones together was a lot of fun since it required a variety of skills, such as soldering, sound design, and dealing with printed circuit boards (PCB boards). Another part of working on the project that I liked was programming and wiring the phones to make them interactive.

In the video above, I’m attempting to reverse engineer a phone to find the switch trigger and route the proper signal to the PCV’s IO port.

A young woman listening to music that is emerging from the telephone. Photo courtesy of Hedvig Kolboholen

Photo Booth

With the photo booth installation, it was essential to establish a connection between social media platforms such as Snapchat and traditional film-shooting techniques in order for the end result to be successful and memorable. This was achieved via the use of an out-of-date camera, which served both as an aesthetic and practical purpose, while the pictures were processed on a Raspberry Pi computer and presented on a huge public display..

When compared to Snapchat, the photos shot at the Photo booth do not vanish once they have been snapped.

Inside the antique camera is a High-Definition Camera module,
Photos are processed and transmitted to a local website using the Raspberry Pi.
  • Visitors interact with photo booth installation
  • Visitors interact with photo booth installation
  • Visitors interact with photo booth installation

A pair of young women are visiting the photo booth installation to snap pictures of themselves. Photo courtesy of Hedvig Kolboholen

Kjartan Abel is a sound designer, music composer, and immersive installation artist, known for his explorations at the intersection of technology and creativity. A seasoned museum nerd, AI enthusiast and tech enthusiast, Kjartan adeptly melds digital innovation with traditional media. His artistry extends to tinkering with Raspberry Pi, crafting unique experiences that resonate in today's tech-driven culture, often exploring the dimensions of space and time. With an MFA in Fine Art Media from The Slade School of Fine Art and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Kingston University, Kjartan’s blog offers a window into his multidisciplinary approach and his journey through the evolving landscape of New Media.