net.gif

Net.gif is a project exploring the realms of Internet through the medium of the gif file. The gif (graphics interchange format) is unique because it is a format generated as a direct result of the web’s creation. In 1992 even with the fastest Internet con- nections it wasn’t possible to watch videos of any sort. Nor would you be well equipped to load regular images, not without a long wait at least. The solution was simply a tiny animated loop to give life to our otherwise flat and boring World Wide Web. So they may have lost their original purpose as the Internet has become more efficient but they still remain as a relic of the Internet and are still used more than ever. In the days where the Internet is such a big part of our lives, gif’s are used as a form of communication, especially on image boards and social blogging sites like 4chan and Tumblr, where an image or gif is often a more common response than text. These looping low fi video clips are related to human memory, which is intimately tied to isolated moments in time.

net.gif

With political campaigns, laws and even religion being formed around the Internet, the work is looking at the power of the web and how it significantly affects our modern lives. Being constantly connected to the world wide web has become part of western society. With the net becoming integrated into our lives like daily routine with some becoming addicted to online gaming, shopping, pornography, gambling and social networking. The online world has become an alternative to the real one with many spending time online to escape the real world. In this work the Internet has been portrayed as a religious cult with its status being similar to that of a religion. The work gives an incite into this Internet realm.

net.gif

These digital files being shown in the context of a gallery have been made into physical objects, so that the work can be experienced in a similar way to how the gif files are viewed on the Internet in a web browser. This is an instilation shot from Freerange exhibition at the Truman Brewery on Brick lane.