Ahhh, eavesdropping… it’s one of my favorite hobbies, and apparently I’m not alone. American artist Megan Constance Altieri turned bits and pieces of overheard conversations into an installation, titled “Sonder : The Art of Empathy Through Eavesdropping” {which was the “Installation Public Vote” winner of Michigan’s prestigious ArtPrize in 2018!} Here is the description of this lovely project:

“Sonder illustrates the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as our own. In our awareness of even a single other person we begin to grasp the magnitude of the 7.6 billion coexisting realities all as specific and important as one another. Over the past two years, Altieri has gathered fragments of overheard conversations and hand-stamped them on articles of clothing matching those of the speaker. Viewing these articles collectively challenges our capacity for empathy, curiosity, and awareness of others. Sonder seeks to help us grasp the beautiful complexities of humanity by allowing a momentary escape from our own lens. In exchange for our perspective, we are offered a truer understanding of our identity as a dot among a sea of dots.”

So, so, so many beautiful dots. FYI, Megan has recently turned this installation in to a book! You can find it here.