This series of devices displays letters in the same manner as a dot-matrix printer, as sets of vertical dots. A print head would move horizontally, laying these sets next to each other to form letters. TextObject II slows and isolates this process, preventing the audience from instantly grasping content as we do with most texts. The work is comprised of a group of three boxes which display three independent texts. There is no specific narrative content; rather, the boxes display random letters in the same frequency which they appear in English. Speed is also varied randomly. By mimicking the patterns of communication, the piece prompts its audience to infer relationships which evoke human interaction.
My work investigates the dual nature of identity, as manifested in both physical and abstract forms. While typical notions of identity are centered on spiritual and intellectual selfhood, we must also consider the fact of our physical bodies. Pure abstract consciousness is a fiction; the only tangible evidence of thought is its manifestation as physical object or act.
My recent work has focused on the nature of language as it relates to the larger issue of identity. All communication begins as abstract intent, which is broadcast using physical processes, and then re-interpreted as content. I am interested in the period during which a communication exists only as physical phenomenon. How can a rule system, applied to a group of objects, evolve content which seems to exceed its ability to carry meaning?
