About

When I Think About You I Text Myself is a relational intervention that takes place entirely in the medium of text message. After a year of researching creative self-realization, psychology, and media theory, artist Hanny Ahern, with technologist Chris Allick, created a hotline for surrogate text messaging. Visitors are encouraged to text a personal message, which remains anonymous to the number found on whenithinkaboutyouitextmyself.com in lieu of reaching out to an unrequited love, angrily venting at a co-worker, or any other hot-headed emotional release, or poetic reverie.

During the initial launch, the responses received by contributors will be personally written by the artist and her collaborator, Adam Rohksar. Ahern will then program the contributor’s messages to be sent back to them at three, six, nine, and twelve month intervals, once the temptation of hitting "send" has long passed.

The message-in-a-bottle approach is an opportunity for an emotional release without concern for social repercussion. It allows the contributor to soothe their impulse, and use texting as a mode of poetic expression to find voice and grace. When I Think About You I Text Myself allows the artist to play the role of intermediary, as if to say, "I'll receive you until you're ready to receive yourself."

Hanny Ahern, Chris Allick, Adam Rohksar