An analogue animation micro-project for Digital Archeology, creating artwork for an identity for ‘50 Years of the Internet’, an event at Here East, London, celebrating the inception and history of the Internet.

As part of my art practice, I had been experimenting with vintage oscilloscopes and real-time generative software. Jim Boulton who runs Digital Archeology from a nearby studio, asked me to help create a moving identity for the exhibition, based on the letterforms for ‘LO‘, one of the first messages sent via internet, and the number ‘50‘.

The animation uses  ‘OCR A’, the very first web font. I created a version of it that could be displayed on an oscilloscope using audio signals, and then manipulated the image using audio filters and distortion, which animated the letterforms in various ways. The results were filmed off the oscilloscope screen. The footage and stills were used by Chris Holt Design to create printed and moving image elements for the event identity.

The centre-piece of the exhibition was an installation of 50 CRT screens showcasing key moments, products, and people from the last 50 years of the Internet, and using animations derived from the original footage.