A site-specific self-hosted QR code network, installation & performance.
Participated in group Exhibition「?」curated by Automatism Studio at the Mobile Repair Shop in downtown Shanghai, October to December, 2025
I scattered 10 QR codes and webpages around the Mobile Repair Shop, self-hosted on a raspberry pi stored locally, all connected to a local LAN router. Via each QR code, you could enter a different experience examining the relationship between the act of scanning (QR codes), activating phone cameras and capturing photos/videos.
Stick common QR codes from our daily lives back
into the phone repair shop! Endless scanning, scrolling, lifting the phone—floating through the virtual public tools. What traces remain after each scan, each passing? What could a broken phone camera still manage to see? How might we return offline, to repair and maintain our self-built hardware networks?
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10 QR-code Network webpages:
1. https://lianass.net: QR network agreement, Scan Receipt about your phone’s metadata;
2. https://lianass.net/2-raise: questions about raising your hand and phone;
3. https://lianass.net/3-parallelpage: scroll down to read, on power of scanning and shooting;
4. https://lianass.net/4-parallelcam: a video shot by my broken phone lens;
5. https://lianass.net/5-parallelstill: scan to upload and share a photo;
6. https://lianass.net/6-pay: scan to learn about the Mobile Repair Shop’s Services;
7. https://lianass.net/7-crack: scan to leave a message to others;
8. https://lianass.net/8-hardware: scan to see an AR phone lens cap fallen on the floor;
9. https://lianass.net/9-shut: you’re now told to turn off your camera and stop scanning;
10. https://lianass.net/10-exchange: draw a fortune poetry (note and photo left by others).
LOCAL QR-NETWORK:
Text, Video, AR 3D Image;
Webpage/application+self-hosted server;
HTML/CSS, Javascript, Node.js, Nginx, SQLite;
HLK-7688A Wireless Router Module; Raspberry Pi 4 Model B; LibreQR; Wi-Fi QR Code Generator; Adhesive Prints.
Performance
A performance action happened during the exhibition where I “led” a QR-scanning event. The audience followed my guided tour of the exhibition to each of the webpage and had a collective QR-scanning experience.
Performance Documentation