Ritual Machine V: Where are You?

Where are You? is a bespoke machine for parents Emmie and Mark regularly separated from their young son Joseph by their working patterns. The machine is a telescope allowing Joseph to explore an illustrated world in search of a flag, which is placed by his parents on their travels using a companion totem device. The machine is designed to create a ritual of playful location sharing. The telescope reveals the world to Joseph as he points it in different directions and zooms in and out. Each layer is a detailed illustrated panorama of the world at successively greater distances from his home. This was accomplished through an intense collaboration with the illustrator Naomi Elliott.

In the context of our Research through Design (RtD) process, we describe our development of this machine, consider some challenges when working with professional practitioners and contribute to current discourses. At each stage of our engagement, we have explored how our material choices, change the terms of our conversation with the our participants about their everyday rituals and work/life balance. The machine is currently living with the family.