Hidden Dialogue

Architecture has the potential to be expressive and form its own sense of character, either in the context of its surroundings, internally, or both. “Hidden Dialogue” takes that concept and explores it, starting out through the lens of an identity thief. Navigating life through an identity thief’s headspace revealed the prevalence of components tying back to one’s identity in a literal sense. Additionally, the reasons behind dedicating one’s time to identity thievery could stem from displeasure with their own sense of identity, or lack thereof. These ideas were illustrated through representative model making, creating and curating artwork, and photoshopped renditions of the thought life of an identity thief. Already, the collection of personal data has become normalized with technology requiring our faces and fingerprints to access them. “Hidden Dialogue” takes this aspect of everyday technology and transports us to a future in which hair collection is also normalized. This new form of data collection becomes experiential, combining a hair salon with a forensics lab to create a unique experience for patrons. With a simple agreement and signature, one can agree to get their hair trimmed and sent up a tube to be analyzed in the lab on the floor above them.