In Absentia embodies a technology that follows the rhythms of nature rather than the ones we create for ourselves. It is constructed in an abandoned house in Ballyvaughan, Ireland that has fallen into a state of disrepair due to the lack of human presence. This lack permits the entropic forces of nature to flourish, reclaiming the space that had been previously constructed to keep them at bay. A clock radio, western society's surrogate circadian rhythm, lay among the decaying remains. It, too, has succumbed to the elements and is now mute. In order to condure a semblance of human presence, the radio has been revived, its power now provided by small solar panels placed in the rafters of the once sheltering roof. The sound from the radio is diffused into the house by speakers suspended throughout the space, their wiring inspired by the twining vines of the local flora. Temporarily revived, the radio conducts drifting conversations, electromagnetic drones, rushes of water and sometimes, noting at all. Fragments of human speech crack and distort, at times chirping with the birds who now come to roost. These dismembered voices mingle with the local soundscape and embody a presence not unlike that of the home and its grounds. Voices ebb and flow with the passing of clouds and ultimately, days. The elements are invited to mingle with the circuitry, and so, the voices will in time submerge in the swish of grass as rust encrusts the contacts and birds weave the wires.
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