human:nature

human:nature cricket headphones

Jill Haefele’s "human:nature" headphones are populated with live crickets that rustle and chirp behind a mesh screen. Visitors to the ITP 2010 Spring Show could don a pair of headphones but instead of listening to a reproduction of music recorded in some studio long ago, they heard actual crickets right next to both of their ears!

Haefele, who has a gorgeous appreciation for the unusual and macabre, actually started with live cockroaches in the headphones. Ugh, right? I got to try that version during development. As a native New Yorker, I’m perhaps a tad less skittish around roaches, but it was still startling to hear them scuttling about millimeters from my ear. It was a direct connection to the local wildlife, via low-tech that only looks high-tech. Haefele later replaced the cockroaches with crickets to expand the number of people willing to try them out. Of course some were still reluctant. It’s not easy to accept that we share our space with non-human neighbors. But many others were delighted and enlightened by the encounter.

human:nature at ITP Spring Show

Effects

The typical visitor experience started with curiosity about these unusual headphones sporting glass globes filled with ferns and dirt. Next, some small movements would reveal the presence of the crickets, usually to the viewer’s surprise and sometimes to their alarm. When coaxed into trying them on, even the most reluctant seemed fascinated and delighted by the unique experience of (nearly) having crickets in their ears. This direct experience of nature stretched their perceptual expectations and offered a contrast. They knew it was “safe” because the crickets were behind a mesh but it still felt “scary” because these real crickets were alive and wild. Even after they removed the headphones, participants appeared more attentive and alert. And no wonder—once you have crickets in your ears everything else falls away and you are 100 percent present.

human:nature creating delight
_{photo by Adi Marom}

Elements

What’s wabi-sabi about these cricket headphones? Well for one, there’s exposure to nature, that’s right in the project’s title! And it’s a real encounter with wildness, because the crickets do just what they’d do anywhere, nibble on leaves, rustle and chirp, but they’re doing it right next to your ears. Initially people feel some unease, but as they acclimate to the new experience, a sense of calm comes on. Crickets are gentle creatures and these are completely contained so you can just listen to the soft sounds that they make and focus on the moment. The headphones themselves are hand-crafted and present the experience in the simplest way possible. A meditative break from the endless clatter of the modern world.

Opportunities

If a project inspires wabi-sabi feelings, it’s always possible to go further, though that doesn’t mean any changes are necessary. The human:nature headphones provide a wonderful experience of the organic and that’s enough. Still, if you decide to build your own, here are some areas left to explore.

Asymmetry and muted colors are other hallmarks to consider, though it may be essential that the headphones still read as such to convey that they are a bridge between the electronic and organic. In fact it could be worth adding electronics to very subtly indicate the happenings in the headphones to others not currently wearing them.

Wabi-sabi does not shy away from death and renewal, and these headphones are populated by creatures with an average life span of 6-8 weeks. The insects next to your ears won’t make it to the next season, a reality worth contemplating, especially because any melancholy felt could further enhance the listener’s focus and attention to what is fundamentally ephemeral. Should the deceased insects be hidden or showcased? Would users informed of their insect entertainer’s lifespan be put off, or find the experience more precious?

grownup wearing human:nature

Building Your Own

You can make your own human:nature-style headphones using simple and easily available materials. Many different approaches should work, in fact even a couple of cricket cages attached to a head band would be a good start. If you prefer something closer to Haefele’s design here’s one way to go about it:

Take two small acrylic snow globes and drill a hole in the top of each where you can place a small rubber stopper. Use a drill press with a hole cutter bit to make holes all the way through both headphones, large enough for the base of the snow globes to mate with them. (Or drill a small starter hole and use a coping saw to make the headphone holes.) Remove any electronics beforehand so nothing gets tangled up in your drill! Place a piece of wire mesh screen so that it covers the base of each snow globe. Silicon adhesive can be used to hold it in place. Finally, attach the base of each snow globe to the holes you cut in the headphone using the silicon adhesive. Epoxy also works well with varied materials like these. The wire mesh will serve as a barrier to the crickets, which you can get in and out of the globes using the rubber stopper. Fill the globes with some leaves and a bit of soil, then add a couple live crickets (carried by pet stores if you don’t want to buy online). Share them with others to spread calm, delight and a direct connection to nature.