In this project from 2005 I explored the past/present/future of communication and broadcasting systems. Corporate media networks have been desperately clinching to their long-held control of information and bandwidth, seemingly ignorant to the fact that a communications revolution has been occurring. They will fight vigorously to hold on to this lopsided power structure, even as individuals and small groups begin to form channels of their own...

Each of the TV sets in the gallery were tuned to a standard UHF television channel. I hijacked corporate airwave frequencies, such as FOX and UPN, transmitting and overwriting their content with software generated color patterns. The patterns are shown for varied lengths of time, rhythmically balanced somewhere between beautiful signal and mindless noise. Communication errors resulting from the low-tech transmissions bring interesting variation to the patterns, in addition to the viewers physically present in the gallery whose bodily presence alters antennae reception. Various types of both retro and contemporary hardware were chosen and used to bring further randomization to the viewer. The corporate-controlled and artist-controlled frequency proximity was also tweaked in such a manner as to make them compete for the channel, causing certain televisions to synthesize the content.

Screens
Here is an archive of 1500 screens