Speak out challenges us to reconsider the legitimacy of the political bor-der. In Speak out, meandering multicoloured particles are pushed into motion as large circles appear on the screen that represent the things that one (You or someone else) may be seeking in life. Depending on the border rules, this trajectory to meet one’s desire or need could be unob-structed and simple. But if (current) border rules are unfavourable, the beings become stuck at the border in a futile attempt to cross it. But let’s not despair, for in this simulated world, we have the option of SPEAKING OUT in order to change the border rules. This is accomplished by reading out loud poetry about the manifold notions that relate to hu-man (migratory) movement. There is one catch though: no change to bor-der rules is permanent, and so the border rules will continue to change over time. Speak out critiques the categorisation of human movement as migratory movement through questioning the notion of the border. The border, after all, is a negotiable social construct, but movement, a human reality.

Terhi Marttila will be defending her PhD dissertation in digital me-dia (University of Porto, Portugal) in early 2022. Her dissertation is a prac-tice-based exploration of various aspects of human (migratory) move-ment. Terhi codes her works for the browser (HTML, CSS and Javascript, p5.js), and designs the work such that voice interaction has an important role in the web of meanings of the works.

terhimarttila.com/speak-out