Performance: sifrmu by Bani Haykal

“sifrmu: when i talk to you, there’s always someone else listening,” is a performance involving bani’s encryption programme, sifrmu, which encrypts plaintext into ciphertext + sound.

sifrmu is a portmanteau of 2 words. the word “sifr” is Arabic for = zero, of which in Malay is called sifar. Etymologically it is also the root word for cipher. The word / suffix “mu” is Malay for = you or yours, sifrmu translates to mean ‘your cipher’.

This performance reflects on the kinds of intimacies users and machines are part of, from past spirits to their presence in manifestations of who we will become in time ahead.