Alex Wenger, Max-Gerd Retzlaff

Imperceptible electromagnetic waves transmit the knowledge of our times. In the information age we are all a part of this. Information about us is collected and stored and we, in turn, register vast quantities of signals that are themselves analyzed by systems. In the installation »Daten|Spuren« [Data|Traces] this collected information takes on a physical presence within our real lifeworld. »Daten|Spuren« – a representation of what is invisible in reality.

»Daten|Spuren« records the electronic fingerprints of the visitors and adds further data from other sources to achieve comprehensive information about every museum visitor and to render the power of data experienceable – data whose authority is often not questioned at all.

Every cell phone with Internet capability is assigned a unique identifier, a media access control address (MAC address), which can be used to identify the device anywhere in the world. The network packets transmitted by most cell phones at short intervals is used by the »Daten|Spuren« installation to access these identifiers, and it is thus able to track the visitors and collect more data.