Ethos, 2011
Single Channel Video
3 min : 35 second, looped
Psalm 119, verse 89 from the King James Bible states: "...Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven". This animation was created by arranging this particular Bible passage into an hourglass-like composition and printing it on a single piece of paper. This original print was then copied using a xerox machine. This first copy was then placed into the xerox machine and copied to produce a second copy. This process of copying the copy was repeated 2,981 times. These copies were then scanned in the order they were copied and turned into a digital animation. Each copy represents a single year. The original text is widely believed to be written by King David who died 2,981 years ago, in 970 BC. Three different xerox machines were used to make the copies: the first machine to make the first 970 copies (970 BC - 0 CE), the second machine for the next 1,455 copies (0 CE - 1,455 CE), and a third for the remaining 556 copies (1455 - 2011 CE). The font used in the "original" print is identical to the one used in the Gutenberg Bible (B-42 Blackletter type), published in 1455 CE. The audio was created by recording a single xerox copy from each machine and then fading-in and stretching that recording over the section of the animation each machine was responsible for producing.
To see a LOW-RES version of the animation, please follow this LINK
Original Print
Xerox #300
Xerox #600
Xerox #900
Xerox #1200
Xerox #1500
Xerox #1800
Xerox #2100
Xerox #2400
Xerox #2700
Xerox #2800
Xerox #2981