Stored Value is a collaboration between sparkpluck and EZ-Link, a company that creates contactless smart cards that are used primarily for public transportation in Singapore.
Description
EZ-Link cards store not only money but also record passenger’s trips around Singapore. Stored Value is a metaphor for a Singaporean collective memory that emerges from the sum of passengers’ journeys, which are each represented by the everyday sounds that we hear.
Stored Value explores the tacitness of Singaporean identity. It captures everyday sounds that people pay little attention to because of how ordinary they are. Yet, when decontextualized, they evoke specific memories that tie us to shared experiences that form a national identity.
Stored Value was exhibited at Singaplural and SHINE Festival in 2017.
The participant taps an EZ-Link card (stored value card) on the replica of a public bus fare deductor. Instead of the usual beep, the “deductor” responds by playing a uniquely Singaporean sound and also becomes illuminated, showing a graphic.
When multiple “deductors” are activated, a mix of sounds are played in concert, creating an immersive soundscape. The sounds are repeatedly played, fading in volume with time.
