Phone-A-Friend allows viewers to make unexpected, spontaneous social connections with strangers. When the viewer texts the phone number displayed on the piece, Phone-A-Friend dials a random number drawn from a pool of the piece’s past users. After leaving the gallery, the viewer should expect to get a call from Phone-A-Friend in the next few days. They’ll be connected with whoever is currently standing at the phone. The shared experience of interacting with Phone-A-Friend may provide a comfortable starting point for small talk, but the conversation can go anywhere.
Charlie Dean is a multimedia artist from Baltimore, Maryland, currently working in Chicago. Working across sculpture, video, and digital media, Dean makes often humorous or absurd work that references and corrupts the infrastructure of the modern world. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with an expected graduation date of 2023. His work can be found at charliedean.net.