Wireless Fidelity is a workshop I gave in October 2023 together with Jack Bardwell at Fanfare in Amsterdam as part of their Broken Channels research program. Together with the participants, we erected a large Wifi Dish on the roof of Tetterode, a formerly-squatted Type Foundry that, today, houses people and collectives. Rumor has it that back in the days, the Tetterodians ran a pirate radio station from up there.

With the help of the dish, a small computer, some previously intercepted handshakes and some good old detective work, we managed to hack into some of the surrounding Wi-Fi networks and took her back online. As we collectively maintained the connection, we listened to some internet radio—Wi-Fi, after all, operates on good old radio waves.

Afterwards, Jürg Leni used his drawing bot Otto to map out all the Wi-Fi networks we intercepted (including the passwords, if we found them).

Original workshop description:

Not many people know this, but perched on the roof of Tetterode there is an old ship. With your help, we will spend the afternoon bringing her back online. Here in the city, we are engulfed in an abundance of Wi-Fi networks. This vast infrastructure is at our disposal—we just need to learn how to navigate it. As we set sail to leave our home port, we will build and erect antennas, catch handshakes and cosplay as internet radio pirates. With a can of Pringles in our hand and an insatiable desire for Wi-Fi, we will embark on a journey over the vast ocean of radio waves, visiting some old friends along the way. Keep it locked!