Life Writer (2006)
Typewriter, projection, table, chair
Life Writer is an interactive installation that merges the boundaries between the artificial and the real. It consists of an antique table and chair, an old-fashioned typewriter and paper that functions as a projection screen.
The artwork evolves and adapts according to the user’s input. As the gallery visitor sits down and types, letters are projected onto the light-sensitive paper. These letters are transformed into insect-like creatures when the carriage return is pressed.
The behaviour and movements of the creatures are determined by the text on which they are based, which acts as genetic code. The creatures move faster or slower depending on their genetic code and eat letters to survive and reproduce. The gallery visitor can interact with the creatures by using the scroll of the typewriter’s cylinder.
