Artist Talk | Whisper: Cyberdeck Diary

The trend of building cute custom single-purpose computers has taken over TikTok while also receiving significant mainstream press framing these devices as everything from an "anti-AI gadget," (Wired) "the most punk thing you can do right now" (Dazed), and the hobby of "the coolest girls you know" (RUSSH).

What does this trend tell us about the broader cultural yearning for digital autonomy? Are these computers for using, or is their purpose to be posted online?

Whisper has been customizing computers since 2015, and they have been central to her art practice since 2022. Cyberdeck Diary is an exploration of the contemporary computing trend, through the lens of three unique devices: an open source sound computer, an archive terminal in a Pelican case, and a ten year old laptop.

How can the quest for individualized computing bring us closer to reimagining collective rituals of computation?

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Whisper is an artist based in Los Angeles, who dreams of computing that feels like augmented presence, cultivated through generations of loving care. Through poetry, performance, software, and hardware, her practice centers living differently with technology. She stewards a network of servers and websites with the collective Secret Server Club, and with her partner Hal as Resonant.love. She is also co-founder of New Art City Virtual Art Space.

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