“Can you hear me?”

Power and powerlessness in the digital age

According to the revelations of Edward Snowden, the Government District near the Brandenburg Gate was the focal point for surveillance and spying on the population. A temporary installation at this location marks the fundamental questions of power and powerlessness in the digital age.

Improvised antennas are standing on the roof of the Academy of Arts at Pariser Platz, just between the listening post of the US Embassy and the British Embassy. From here, past the Reichstag and the Chancellery to the antennas at the Swiss Embassy, and further on to the system on the roof of the Academy of Arts on Hanseatenweg, Christoph Wachter and Mathias Jud have built a mesh network.