Artworks that explore the boundaries between physical public space and the virtual space

For this proposal I will research, develop, build and test a mechanical means by which a random selection of web searches being made by people around the world can be intercepted then broadcast live as an endless 'poetry' for a viewing public. It will be realised through collaborating with Eddie Berg who is the Artistic Director at The British Film Institute (BFI Southbank).

I will look particularly at flap sign technology, which was commonly used in the twentieth century as a way of displaying travel information in stations and airports. My aim is to repurpose this kind of analogue technology to display the live virtual data -to offer up a persistent snapshot of humanity, and its needs and wants as played out at every moment on internet search engines.

The resulting monumental artwork will be a silent witness but something, which a passing audience can engage with in an immediate and meaningful way either fleetingly or for longer periods.

It will be staged for extended periods of time at two of Britain's premiere cultural institutions; first at the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT) in Liverpool and then at the BFI Southbank in London offering two exciting contexts within which this semi-permanent artwork can be tested and evaluated.

This practice-based research proposal will develop my career as an artist working with new media and networked communications systems like the worldwide web.