Microtruc Collective. Les Trucs

The French group Microtruc devises systems to bridge the gap between virtual and physical space. It circulates “Trucs” (Things), getting selected individuals to pass them on to others, who then pass them on, etc. These travelling objects thus go from hand to hand – “from palm to palm” – and their movements are geo-located on an online map, so that they can be visualised in real time.
On the Jeu de Paume website, users can follow the career of each “Truc,” seeing where it has been, hear the stories of those who passed it on, and imagine what the “Truc” is.
This project highlights human fluxes and exchanges, but its main purpose is to question the notion of global surveillance. This phenomenon is in fact highly relative, since it depends on our individual decisions whether or not to connect with the digital world. In this sense, the loss of the “Trucs” is part and parcel of the whole process;
By its accumulation of narratives, maps and geographical data, this set-up compares networks and territories, questioning the extent, scope and reliability of our connections. Are not our worlds more “micro” and less “macro” than we like to think?

Project presented 18 November 2010-9 march 2011
on www.jeudepaume.org > virtual space
and in the Jeu de Paume resources room.

Curators: Microtruc Collective and Marta Ponsa

Internet work produced with the support from
Jeu de Paume and in partnership with OWNI