Fear / Hope

Three displays, three rates of change

Seeking fundingInstallation, three objectsFiled Oct 2026▶ Watch on YouTube

Abstract

Three objects show the same two words at three rates. A lenticular print changes once, when the viewer moves. A cathode-ray receiver cycles between them on a fixed interval, with a burst of noise between states. A vertical display runs them as a feed, each state lasting only as long as a thumb allows. The piece sets the three side by side so the rate itself becomes the thing seen.

Background

The Messaging Thrash of a medium is the rate at which the medium suggests different messages to the user. Innovation in media often goes hand in hand with increasing message thrash. For most of the history of print the thrash was slow enough to go unnoticed: a painting did not change, a broadsheet perhaps daily. Broadcast introduced the cut, and with it the two words Postman heard joining any item to any other, "Now... this," the interval between them making the join acceptable. Algorithmic feeds remove the interval entirely for fear of leaking any attention.

This piece is an exploration of message thrash.

Apparatus

FIG. 1Lenticular print, 13 in. CRT receiver, vertical displayNot to scale

Exhibits

frame at 00:00.00 — **Exhibit 1**Frames from the receiver signal, one cycleOct 2026Untreated

frame at 00:04.00 — **Exhibit 1**Frames from the receiver signal, one cycleOct 2026Untreated

HOPE, poster frame of the cycle video — **Exhibit 2**The cycle, video, 01:00 loopUntreatedWatch on YouTube ↗

noise frame between the two words — **Exhibit 3**Interval frame, between statesUntreated

Status

StageIn progress. Three versions exist.

ExistsThe word cycle, rendered on a CRT monitor. A Poster with news print. A Mobile phone app.

RequiredLenticular print fabrication. Feed component build. Plinths and cabling. A venue.