FUTURE PROOF

future proof

(2009-2013)

media: installation, painting

concepts: technology, belief, place

"Future Proofing" is a tenuous concept in the technological sector. It describes the creation of a product that is built to withstand the technological advances of the coming years. The idea is flawed, in that it is impossible to measure in advance the rate of change of technology, but, nonetheless, products are created with this idea in mind.

The series of artworks in Future Proof are designed to reflect the futility of this idea, and also analyse and dissect the rate of technological change over the last thirty years, and how this has affected various areas of social life.

reading

roland barthes image-music-text (1977)
george orwell the road to wigan pier (1937)
alvin toffler future shock (1970)

Future Proof I

VHS tape, CDs, screws on wall 2011

This work uses mixed media that have an air of obsolescence to them (video tapes and CDs.) in order to create a mixed-media installation as the title piece of this series.

Made as part of a residency at in The Nes International Artist Residency, Skagastrond, Iceland.

Future Proof I

VHS tape, CDs, screws on wall 2011

This work uses mixed media that have an air of obsolescence to them (video tapes and CDs.) in order to create a mixed-media installation as the title piece of this series.

Made as part of a residency at in The Nes International Artist Residency, Skagastrond, Iceland.

Future Proof I

VHS tape, CDs, screws on wall 2011

This work uses mixed media that have an air of obsolescence to them (video tapes and CDs.) in order to create a mixed-media installation as the title piece of this series.

Made as part of a residency at in The Nes International Artist Residency, Skagastrond, Iceland.

Coming Soon! de Selbys Latest and Greatest! The One The Only...DMP!

Bicycle wheels, video tape, CDs, plastic pipes, wood and acrylic 2011, 210 x 280 x 297cm

Based on Flann O'Brien's "The Dalkey Archive" and "The Third Policeman", this work plays with the idea of the obsolete ideas and future proofing.

Made as part of a residency at in The Nes International Artist Residency, Skagastrond, Iceland.

The Third Policeman was originally written by O'Brien but was rejected by his publisher in the 1930s. Subsequently, The Dalkey Archive was created as a rewrite by O'Brien, and was published. The original manuscript was published posthumously but has historically become more popular and more critically acclaimed. The idea of the original book as the more advanced and the rewrite as obsolete, and some of the visual material in the book, inspired this work.

Coming Soon! de Selbys Latest and Greatest! The One The Only...DMP!

Bicycle wheels, video tape, CDs, plastic pipes, wood and acrylic 2011, 210 x 280 x 297cm

Based on Flann O'Brien's "The Dalkey Archive" and "The Third Policeman", this work plays with the idea of the obsolete ideas and future proofing.

Made as part of a residency at in The Nes International Artist Residency, Skagastrond, Iceland.

Coming Soon! de Selbys Latest and Greatest! The One The Only...DMP!

Bicycle wheels, video tape, CDs, plastic pipes, wood and acrylic 2011, 210 x 280 x 297cm

Based on Flann O'Brien's "The Dalkey Archive" and "The Third Policeman", this work plays with the idea of the obsolete ideas and future proofing.

Made as part of a residency at in The Nes International Artist Residency, Skagastrond, Iceland.

A Period of Constant Revolution

Oil, wax, charcoal and spray-paint on canvas 2007, 142 x 320cm

This painting uses images of obsolete forms, current technologies, and references to 20th Century literature

a mixed media painting, A Period of Constant Revolution

It's Nothing You Haven't Seen Before

Oil, wax, charcoal and spray-paint on canvas 2007, 108 x 176cm

A painting that is nothing you haven't seen before.

a mixed media painting, Its Nothing You Havent Seen Before

Future Proof II

Video tape, public installation 2013, 1500 x 320cm

A text-based installation created using video tape and installed at the public one-month intervention Granby Park project run by Upstart, September 2013. The play on words between 'raise' and 'raze' are developed in response to the construction/destruction history of the site of the park.

The use of obsolete media emphasises how fast, cheap construction methods can lead to obsolescence in a short time-frame. The work was left at the site Granby Park after the public pop-up ceased to exist, and has since degraded over time.

Future Proof II

Video tape, public installation 2013, 1500 x 320cm

A detail of the text-based installation above. The word "Raze" is represented as a heavy, stable image as a play on how buildings that may seem stable may be easily felled.

Remember the Good Old Days

Computer, cards, paint and mixed media, 110 x 325 x 55cm

A playful piece looking at obsolescence in recent digital media, creating a personality for an old computer. Based on writings on technology and AI.

Remember the Good Old Days

Computer, cards, paint and mixed media, 110 x 325 x 55cm

A playful piece looking at obsolescence in recent digital media, creating a personality for an old computer. Based on writings on technology and AI.

Remember the Good Old Days

Computer, cards, paint and mixed media, 110 x 325 x 55cm

A playful piece looking at obsolescence in recent digital media, creating a personality for an old computer. Based on writings on technology and AI.