Archived works
Preserving digital artworks.
A Wrinkle in TimeNeil JenkinsCustom software · commissioned artwork · 2014A custom textual work based on Madeleine L’Engle’s novel A Wrinkle in Time. A reader travels through the source text by clicking words, which lead into generated cut-up paths. The work was commissioned by Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery for Literary Notions in 2014. A custom textual work based on Madeleine L’Engle’s novel A Wrinkle in Time. A reader travels through the source text by clicking words, which lead into generated cut-up paths. The work was commissioned by Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery for Literary… read more
The Garden of Forking PathsNeil Jenkins, curatorTouring exhibition and project website · 2009–2013Jorge Luis Borges' 1941 short story "The Garden of Forking Paths" predates the Internet. However, its notions of non-linearity, the storyline surrounding an infinite labyrinthine book that realises multiple paths and futures are echoed in the information age with hypertext, the World Wide Web and the form and structure of computer games.Just as Borges and his contemporaries pushed the envelope of narrative form, artists have created and modified computer games, experimenting with notions of what a game is… read moreJorge Luis Borges' 1941 short story "The Garden of Forking Paths" predates the Internet. However, its notions of non-linearity, the storyline surrounding an infinite labyrinthine book that realises multiple paths and futures are echoed in the information… read more
Exquisite CopseNeil JenkinsNetworked Flash work with local book-reader runtime · 2005A play on the Surrealist game Exquisite Corpse, Exquisite Copse rewrites existing works of literature into a forest of word trees. Visitors select a book, enter a seed word, and each branch grows with words that might follow in the original text.The collected trees form a copse: a Surrealist landscape and journey through myriad narratives, created and influenced by both visitor and author.Commissioned for Net:Reality, a UK touring exhibition of installed net art, the work was first shown in 2005 and later… read moreA play on the Surrealist game Exquisite Corpse, Exquisite Copse rewrites existing works of literature into a forest of word trees. Visitors select a book, enter a seed word, and each branch grows with words that might follow in the original text.The… read more
Wartime [calculated $817,800,000,000]Neil JenkinsBrowser-based screen work · 2001Wartime [calculated $817,800,000,000] is a computational anti-war work created for the online Wartime project. Its calculated figure is presented as an insistent screen-based image, translating the scale of war expenditure into a stark numerical form.The original project page placed the work within the Anti-War Web Ring, connecting it to a wider network of online anti-war works through previous, next, list and random navigation.A projected version was included in Screenshot(s) at Shrewsbury Museum & Art… read moreWartime [calculated $817,800,000,000] is a computational anti-war work created for the online Wartime project. Its calculated figure is presented as an insistent screen-based image, translating the scale of war expenditure into a stark numerical form.The… read more
OrbitalNeil Jenkins and Mac DunlopNetworked web artwork, original poem and custom software · 2000A postcard to space travel, inspired by imagining a letter to or from a traveller in space.Words arrive according to the visitor’s network address, weaving poetic and programming languages together. The original poem is by Mac Dunlop; the Orbital engine was devised and programmed by Neil Jenkins. A postcard to space travel, inspired by imagining a letter to or from a traveller in space.Words arrive according to the visitor’s network address, weaving poetic and programming languages together. The original poem is by Mac Dunlop; the Orbital engine… read more
Haunted HouseNeil Jenkins · 4th Dimension SoftwareCommodore 64 game and screen-editing system · 1985A Commodore 64 game and screen-editing system made in 1985 by Neil Jenkins under the name 4th Dimension Software. Recovered from the original cassette tape, the preserved game runs in a self-hosted browser C64 runtime. A Commodore 64 game and screen-editing system made in 1985 by Neil Jenkins under the name 4th Dimension Software. Recovered from the original cassette tape, the preserved game runs in a self-hosted browser C64 runtime.
JetmanNeil Jenkins · 4th Dimension SoftwareCommodore 64 game · 1984A Commodore 64 game made in 1984 by Neil Jenkins under the name 4th Dimension Software. The reconstructed release runs in a self-hosted C64 runtime with keyboard and onscreen joystick controls. A Commodore 64 game made in 1984 by Neil Jenkins under the name 4th Dimension Software. The reconstructed release runs in a self-hosted C64 runtime with keyboard and onscreen joystick controls.
MoondustJaron LanierCommodore 64 game with generative audio · 1983Jaron Lanier’s 1983 Commodore 64 game is widely regarded as the first generative music game, with a soundtrack created through playing the game. It was presented in The Garden of Forking Paths with permission, using a plug-and-play exhibition cartridge on an original Commodore 64 computer with a television screen. Jaron Lanier’s 1983 Commodore 64 game is widely regarded as the first generative music game, with a soundtrack created through playing the game. It was presented in The Garden of Forking Paths with permission, using a plug-and-play exhibition cartridge… read more