“Projects such as the Transonomaton show that we are not powerless in the face of the many challenges that lie ahead.
This scale is very interesting: it is through this that we are able to defend the common good. Working together is what enables us to develop collective visions that inspire us. And even more so when we can combine the artistic with the social: I believe this gives us wings. The surge of collective creativity that gave shape to this butterfly tells that story. And in colour, to reflect the lightness and joy that action brings.”
The Transonomaton is a mobile device for mutual interviews, designed for the participatory media platform Transonore, with the aim of amplifying the voices of local residents.
How can we encourage dialogue and public discourse, how can we amplify the voices of local residents, and how can we ‘reach out’?
This project originated in the town of Pré Saint-Gervais, where, for the past five years, transonore has been handing the microphone to local residents to discuss issues of solidarity and urban ecology, producing podcasts based on reports filmed in their local area. “It was in a public square that we came up with the idea for the transonomaton, whilst observing the very specific kind of space that the microphone creates between residents: exactly the length of an arm stretched out towards another person,” explains Laure Watrin, founder of transonore.

A clever and lightweight device, the Transonomaton extends its articulated arms from a simple hand truck. It features two stools, enabling people of all ages to chat whilst reviving the universal codes of conviviality. Generous and cheerful with its bright, vibrant colours and its ‘hand-stitched’ simplicity, it can spread its wings in a public square, a building lobby or a communal garden, like a butterfly set out to pollinate.