36 Gallery, Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne

This exhibition displayed snippets of mobile phone calls that had been overheard in public settings in the UK over the course of a year. Whilst one hundred of these calls had been shown previously in 2025 – this was the first time that the whole year’s worth (seven hundred and sixty overhead mobile phone calls) were exhibited together in one place.

All the calls had been heard in passing in communal spaces such as streets, shops, cafes, pubs, parks, public transport and the countryside.

For collecting the phone calls the following rules applied.

1. Only notice phone calls that come to you in the normal course of your day.
2. Don’t make any deviations to hear a call.
3. No audio recording devices.
4. Do not approach someone just ‘cos they’re on the phone.
5. No hospitals or doctor/dental surgery waiting areas.

Methods: Remember the call and write it down later (ok for funny ones) OR make a quick voice note after someone has walked past you OR jot it down on paper (longer calls on trains)

Each card displayed represents a different phone call. Each phone call is one half of a conversation. Most of the cards are postcard sized- a few are bigger.