ABSTRACT
Mobile media is often considered a recent phenomenon, conditioned by industrial strategies, technological breakthroughs and social needs and trends. Although yesterday’s new devices rapidly become obsolete and fall out of fashion, more than a 25-year perspective to account for their history may seem far too long, not to mention anything about a century or even a millennium. This chapter argues that mobile media art can be traced through early mobile media interventions spanning centuries, through exploration from a media archaeological perspective, suggesting that it makes sense to penetrate beyond contemporary forms to gain insights into the slow unfolding of media culture. Much remains hidden, waiting to be brought back to light and connected with forms that are remembered and already acknowledged by media historical scholarship. Uncovering the hidden layers, forgotten devices and unaccounted for discourses should be brought into dialogue with later forms, inciting all to explain each other. The media archaeologist functions as a catalyst helping to make it happen.
