2007
Surface Gallery, Nottingham, UK.
artworkornetwork was installed at the Surface Gallery, Nottingham, as part of the Rules of the Game series of 5 exhibitions.
A screen, on the gallery wall, displays a grid divided into small rectangles. Each one of these could be electronically 'occupied' by someone. There was space for eight thousand one hundred and seventy people.
Visitors to the gallery are asked to take a postcard, located next to the screen, and follow the 'rules' - the instructions which explain how to take part. The first 'rule' is to leave the gallery and find a computer connected to the internet and visit the work's website.
Participants then remotely select a rectangle on the screen, fill this with a pulsating colour, leave their name, location and a website they would like other people to visit. They are then asked to invite 5 of their friends to do the same.
As more people took part, so more rectangles became 'occupied'. The image changed on a daily basis and the work was complete as soon as all of the rectangles were 'occupied'.
There were three ways to take part: Visit the Surface Gallery to collect the instructions, hearing about the instructions by word of mouth, or by being invited by someone who has already taken part.
Social connections 'spread' around the Internet - each person 'digitally' touching the next.
Exhibition dates: 19th April - 19th May