Helena Wee
8 Bit Array
The "8 Bit Array" of the title refers to the conical objects placed in a serial configuration on the table. In computing 8 bits make up one byte of information. There are eight of these viewing devices, each containing a petri-dish, placed in series on a table. Also on the table is an old "IBM Think Pad" laptop and a small camcorder. The organism seen emanating from the laptop, through the projector, and into the array is growing like a spore or bacterial colony on the petri dish. It changes with the environment. Being in the middle of an art exhibition, it feeds on and uses the ideas around it as a source of nutritive energy. The camcorder picks up images from the environment and feeds it to the computer. The life form that is replicating itself has visual similarities to the appearance of the DNA molecule in cross-section, as well as a kaleidoscope, or some kind of tunnel. It is clear that this experiment is still ongoing. The array is akin to the telescopic arrays found in New Mexico to look at stars and constellations. In computer programming arrays are structures within a program which can be parsed to reveal relevant information. There are references to light as an illuminating medium in the search for knowledge from different perspectives. Inputs and outputs affect what is observed and it is thus that the position of the observer becomes destabilised. The array itself has an absurd child-like look to it. The way it is constructed is DIY and self evident, as if someone were trying something out or creating something from scratch using basic materials. The table is worn and has doodles on it from past users. The piece references the formation of an art-science paradigm and Kant's Transcendental Synthesis.