A SIM card is many things. An international ID card held within our smartphones, a repository of personal data, and a tool for intimate connection. They have a symbolic meaning too. They provide a bridge to transnational, as well as local networks to give us a portable sense of belonging. 

This project uses the SIM card as a platform to shape new ways of sharing and archiving stories of migration. It is inspired by conversation and craft with refugees and people who are seeking sanctuary. The growing mobile collection includes over 150 unique artefacts created at free workshops in 8 countries. Participants make a screenshot from the image archive on their phone, which is transferred onto a sim-scale glass model. In turn, metal frames are etched, polished and stamped with ID numbers of personal significance.

The wearable SIM artworks tell stories and ask questions about notions of home, identity and how people relate to each other through digital devices. 

‘As an immigrant, I don’t really have roots, I have tendrils, which stretch to different places in the world where there are people I love’

Argentinian project artist, Cyprus, 2022