Tunnelinvartija

Tunnelinvartija (The Tunnel Keeper) is a single channel sound installation in a shopping mall. Intended to be experienced unexpectedly, the work gives the impression of accidentally hearing one half of a private phone call through the mall’s sound system. The main character of the work is a new employee of the mall, working as ”the tunnel keeper”. In the phone conversation, the character shares his personal memories of the mall's surrounding area and ponders the possibilty of secret hallways existing within the mall. The call gets repeatedly interrupted by an undisclosed reason, and in between the calls, the character is trying to learn chords on a synthesizer.

Loosely inspired by the surrealist works of David Lynch, the installation aims to awaken the experiencer to their surroundings, as they are seemingly hearing something they might not be supposed to, in a public space.

9 min loop, obscured loudspeaker, raspberry pi board

Concept & voice: Jaakko Metsäpelto

Tunnelinvartija is commissioned by Laura Kallio-Kokko / Kauppakeskus Apaja