Breaking Walled Gardens: An iOS Jailbreaking Workshop

Sam Heckle

Dedicate some time to try hacking existing devices to extend their longevity and limit our own production of e-waste. This is a workshop to jailbreak old Apple devices for reusability in modern livelihoods. Non iOS devices are also possible to explore. Each participant will be requested to bring an old i-device (ideally with the original charger) to go through the process of “jailbreaking.” If participants do not have old Apple devices, they are welcome to bring other specific hardware and use the workshop time to experiment with modifications and tooling to get them up and running again (think old phones, media players, game consoles). In this workshop, you will be looking for ways to play around with the existing hardware and re-incorporating them back into serviceable devices. Potential avenues could include: extra screens for an art installation, modded gaming consoles to play lost media, or simply using your old iPod as a music player again. This workshop will also have a discussion on the philosophy of perma-computing, or ways we can hack existing devices to extend their longevity and limit our own production of e-waste. Devices are planned to become obsolete, and it is our job as soft(ware) custodians to maintain, cultivate, and care for these old and forgotten tools.

Saturday 2130 Sutton Place / Workshop B


Sam Heckle is a bi-coastal educator and artist specializing in ethical software, generative systems, and decentralized network design. They are currently exploring permacomputing through repurposing electronic waste, queer representations in media, and the rituals that bring us back into the algorithmic fold. Sam currently teaches creative computation and critical media theory at The New School, New York University, Hunter College, and the School of Visual Arts. They are also an active organizer of Destruction Junket, a Brooklyn-based art collective that creates community from chaos.