There are many reasons to visit Big Bang Data, an exhibition on how data is transforming our world currently on at the Somerset House, but at least one of them is Goldsmiths related: work from the Interaction Research Studio is featured as part of the show.
The Prayer Companion is a device developed by the Interaction Research Studio for a group of Poor Clare Sisters at a monastery in York:
“With a data-feed displaying the news stories and events of the day, as well as people’s personal issues, the table-top device was used by the nuns to provide a resource for prayers of intercession.
The nuns, whose everyday lives have changed little since medieval times, have taken vows of enclosure, and their only connection to the outside world is through occasional access to Catholic newspapers, mail, and limited use of the telephone and computer.”
(You can read a more detailed story on the Prayer Companion on the Goldsmiths website.)
The Prayer Companion has been previously exhibited in Barcelona and Madrid as part of Big Bang Data, as well as in several other international exhibitions. The device is also in the permanent collection at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Big Bang Data is on at the Somerset House until 28 February 2016 and includes over 50 works by artists, designers and innovators.
Goldsmiths Design Blog 