Historically Yours

Historically Yours is an interactive installation presented as a feminist podcast from the Underworld. Three illuminated, 3D-printed heads embody Cleo, Toinette and Henri: fictional hosts inspired by Cleopatra VII, Marie Antoinette and astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Created by Lina Ruth Harder, the work was shown in progress at After Virtual Reality, USF Verftet, Bergen, from 15 to 21 October 2026, in association with the Bergen International Film Festival.

Visitors listen through headphones and send messages through a browser interface. Claude generates the dialogue from character prompts and historical context; ElevenLabs gives it synthetic speech. A live transcript accompanies the conversation, while coloured lights mark the speaker. Recorded introductions, fictional advertisements, Suno-generated music and sign-offs give the encounter the familiar rhythm of a commercial podcast.

The hosts are deliberately unreliable interpretations, assembled from historical fragments, popular myths and gendered stereotypes. Drawing on the literary tradition of the Dialogues of the Dead, the work centres women whose reputations have been shaped by blame, romanticisation and omission. Their visibly constructed bodies and invented voices invite visitors to question how representations of the past acquire authority.