Contato qwerty was conceived by Brazilian artist Fernando Rabelo as an extrapolation of the reverse engineering concept: it is not just a copy but a singular creation that corrupts the original meaning.

Metallic dish-washing sponge with sensors are hanging from wires, disposed in a medium height so that they can be pressed by hands. Visitors trigger audiovisuals projections by touching the sponges which are commonly used in Brazil to wash the dishes but also to amplify the reception of antennas of electro devices such as radios and TVs. The wire act as a kind of extension of a computer keyboard.

By the contact of the hands on the metal sponges, the body itself “closes” the keyboard circuit, making visible the process that is hidden inside the keyboard. When the electronic circuit is thus closed, fragments of video appear on the screen. They show everyday actions: closing or opening doors, switching on or off the gas, changing gear, etc. The more people interact with the sponge the higher the sound of the projections.

The work comments on the “gambiarra� (a brazilian term used to distinguish the precarious adaptations that are actually functional), a phenomenon that is usually unpredictable and transgressive but that plays with the technological reality imposed to the consummer.

Images from the FILE festival in Ṣo Paulo РBrasil.