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Artist's Statement

I create "net art", online artwork that is about the Internet and is designed to exist in the network environment. My work explores the ideas of ownership, authority, territory, and communication in the virtual world.

I do this by creating software that talks directly to the Internet and appropriates the text, images and data that make up the web. The software uses this information as raw material to create an aesthetic experience. Because I use programming languages to create these interfaces, I can allow for the coding process to create unforeseen possibilities that add another dimension to the work. The technology reveals possibilities. Accidents happen and mistakes in the code produce unexpected but wonderful qualities.

This creative chaos extends to the works themselves. My works are not objects but interfaces. The users become collaborators in the artwork, upsetting the conventions of ownership and authority. By interacting with the work, the visitors shape the piece, causing it to change and evolve, often in unpredictable ways. The user is an integral part of the design. Technology provides the interface through which the user engages in an aesthetic process. The artwork is not a thing, it is a process, an interface, an invitation to participate in a creative act.

About The Shredder by Mark Napier