About this Artwork
The CITYtalking conversation booth was wheeled around Melbourne’s CBD for five weeks by Astra Howard the Action Researcher/Performer, stopping in selected laneways across the city where members of the public were encouraged to enter to engage in a conversation. As participants spoke, Astra sitting opposite typed the comments into a laptop computer, capturing as much of the individuals story as possible without the aid of visual cues. These idiosyncratic tales of life in Melbourne were then transmitted to LED screens positioned on the outside of the booth allowing passing pedestrians to read the accumulating narrative
of the city circa 2006.
City of Melbourne Laneway Commission 2006