Avatars of the tortoise : life, longevity and simulation

This paper explores the contemporary fascination with artificial life and simulation. The concept of artificial life has broadened it reach from a rarefied speculative discipline to a phenomenon in popular culture and a fertile trope within the electronic arts. From its representation in the cinema, to virtual pets and tamagotchis, to advanced digital art, the essay examines the category of "life" in the age of digital simulation. Questions to do with artificial life range from the representation or incarnation of our "real" selves as avatars in digital spaces (such as computer games), to popular, artistic and scientific attempts to simulate autonomous life forms. In the context of digital art, the essay critically engages with the work of Australian artist Troy Innocent, in particular with his most recent installation, Artefact (2001). In Artefact, Innocent actively investigates the digital investment of life in avatars as they operate in an interactive game environment. In this work, Innocent prompts an intriguing, if troubling, question, central to the overall interests of this essay: what, in the age of digital simulation, is not alive

Abduction... it's a gas! (DataBlitz 2013)

Account of ongoing critical remix project, 'Classical Gas' which appropriates easy listening albums as if they were famous works of critical theory and philosophy. DataBlitz on Creativity was held on 26 July 2013

From theory to anthology: the procession of simulacra

Abstract not available

Game theory

Abstract not available

Century of change? Media arts then and now

The formative years of 20th century modernism were all about speed: the speed of progress, the rapidity with which technological change metamorphosed into the art of the new. Under the grip of what Hugh Kenner called 'the mechanic muse', art went techno. How do we characterize the media and experimental art practices of the early 21st century? At a time of increasing technological sophistication, are we witnessing a neo-modernist period of accelerated novelty? Is the new still capable of shocking? Or are we asking the wrong kinds of questions of the new millennium

The Literary adventure that will become your world

In this rhetorical piece, the author offers up a “mobisode” masterpiece, unveiled as “mini_Proust”: the ultimate event in miniaturisation for the hand-held generation

Speaking of what can be heard

A book review of Philip Brophy's '100 Modern Soundtracks', BFI Screen Guides. London, BFI Publishing, 2004

Courting emotional contagion: Tina Gonsalves' Chameleon

This paper engages with the recent computer-mediated video installations of Australian media artist Tina Gonsalves. Gonsalves' interactive video Chameleon (2008-2010) explores the scientific notion of 'emotional contagion', the dynamics of how emotions spread from one person to another in social contexts. An ambitious work at the interface of media art, neuroscience and advanced 'affective computing' being developed at the MIT Media Lab, Chameleon interprets the notion of empathy as a kind of code that can be simulated in an installation context. The work continues and expands upon the artist's interest in the intimacies and vulnerabilities of human emotions. It is a genuinely interdisciplinary work that breaks new ground in terms of the dialogue between art, science and technology

Cyberbabble: the grammatology of online communications

Abstract not available