Eric Forman Studio

This chandelier is a social sculpture — and a legal provocation. Our devices connect us to the virtual world, but they often disconnect us from people in the same room, and even at the same table. At every moment, the mobile phone competes with real–life interaction and solitary reflection.

Surveillance capitalism and ad delivery is underwritten by pervasive network ubiquity. Because the distraction streams are so ruthlessly delivered, we cannot be fully present in real life at the same time. Despite being aware of their disruptive qualities, it is very difficult to put down our phones: they are designed to be addictive, carried at all times, always on. It’s not that we can’t turn them off: it’s that we don’t.

The mental health and privacy impact of cellphone addiction has been well documented. To be wholly present with ourselves and each other, we must invent new methods to define and protect personal space. To wrest back control, we can monitor our screen time and set limits on different platforms. This has been proven to be ineffective, especially when other people are with us. Sealing your phone in a box only works for you, not for conversation and mutual attention. The only architectural solutions thus far are invasive and impractical: remote bunkers or Faraday shielding (EMF blocking material embedded under walls). Black market jammers are illegal, overpowering, and indiscriminate. Despite our great technological advances, there are still no effective means of mutual disconnection.

Contemporary humanity now occupies two worlds — one virtual and one physical — and we need the right to determine how and when we inhabit each. Interfering with cell and wifi signals is currently illegal even at home, but this prohibition is based on outdated laws. But what if we could control connectivity with the ease of a switch?

It is well documented that the online platforms we increasingly inhabit pose a threat to our health and well-being as individuals, and as a society. Device addiction and over-use contribute to multiple global issues: depression in teenage populations, the proportion of personal life open to corporate surveillance, the outsized influence of algorithms that threaten our politics, and more broadly, the atrophy of our ability to simply be present that is so crucial to practicing empathy.

The virtual world provides crucial and lifesaving access and knowledge, as well as entertainment. But it is too difficult for ordinary people to set healthy boundaries. The Dis/Connect Chandelier will give people the ability to establish small spaces outside the reach of online distraction. Designating zones of digital silence will serve as a reminder that the way we engage with each other and the world around us matters deeply. 

Cellular or wifi jamming is currently illegal across the world, in consideration of emergency communication needs and the business interests of spectrum licensees. Existing black market jammers are packaged as technical instruments with indiscriminate range that runs the risk of blocking other external communications without permission. By introducing a new capability to this technology that allows for more precise limits to the range of signal jammers, we can accommodate safety concerns and comply with the spirit of the law. In short, this device is a private choice within a private space, with no possible overlap into the public.

Together with our partner, the Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy Clinic, we have delivered a legal petition for the FCC that challenges existing precedent around these issues. We argue that mandating constant connectivity to the network is both invasive to property and individual privacy, and harmful to mental and behavioral health. Therefore, there are compelling reasons for the FCC to reconsider its position on prohibiting all signal jamming technology and to allow for limited use.

Our networked devices are indispensable and yet they clearly pose a risk to our psychological well-being if we cannot easily manage their use. The Dis/Connect Chandelier gives the individual a frictionless way to create quiet spaces in their own home — as easy as turning on or off a lamp — and points to a distinct technological and legal path forward in our effort as a society to grapple with this issue.

Note: in an exhibition context, the artwork can be shown turned on and illuminated but with the jamming deactivated, so there is no legal risk to the exhibiting venue.

Cellphones and wifi work by establishing radio frequency contact with signal transmitters, usually located high on roofs or towers. Once this contact is established, it becomes an on–going conversation, where information is passed back and forth via a private communication line.

The jammer works by drowning out this conversation with noise in the frequency bands that cellphones and wireless internet use: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and WiFi. This noise overwhelms the device's ability to differentiate signal, and it is then effectively disconnected.

Our jammer design tunes the volume of this noise using inline attenuators, which lower the power of the transmitted noise. We shape the signal so that the sphere of influence extends just under the chandelier, encompassing only the space beneath, such as tables and chairs. Walking away from that spot returns the phone to normal signal. Phones and other devices can also be left on in another part of the same room if access to incoming calls or emergency signals is a concern.

The next version of the Dis/Connect chandelier will use a new antenna technology that allows for more precise shape and limits to the jamming zone. Unlike existing jammers which use omnidirectional dipolar antennae, the new version uses a Vivaldi design with teardrop field shaping that can be focused for each frequency band.