David Aston

ARTWORK DETAILS

David Aston
Hello World / Diachronic self-portrait as Janus, 1975-1995 / 2025-2050 (with Apple-1 brain)
Hand blown glass, replica Apple-1, deconstructed antique typewriters, keyboard, digital display
24 H x 21 W x 14 D CM
2026

FURTHER DETAILS

The history of digital computing is relatively short in the context of human history. In just two generations we have transitioned from the first digital computers (1946), through the birth of AI (1956), personal computing (1970s), the internet (1983, 1993 public release), to quantum computing (1998). All eyes are now firmly set on data at scale to deliver an AI revolution and solutions to all of the world’s challenges, potentially some time between 2025-2050. The mid 1970s saw the democratisation of computers as they made the transition from the head quarters of governments and corporation to individuals. These first ‘personal’ computers were constructed or “home brewed” by hobbyists with the skills needed to source, construct and programme them. These hobbyists then went on to found the computer corporations which brought digital computing to our daily lives.

Hello World (Self portrait as Janus, 1975-1995 / 2025-2050, with Apple-1 brain) is a diachronic self-portrait as Janus, the two-headed Roman protector of ceremonial gates, time, change and transitions, enabling him to see into both the past and future. The diachromic self-portrait follows the form and hand-blown blue glass of Roman antiquity. It depicts the artist as both a young and old man, occupying the present whilst simultaniously looking backwards and forwards through time. The head of the young man is modelled from the artist age 20, cast whilst at art college in 1995, and looks back to 1975 and the birth of the artist and personal computing. The head of the old man is modelled from a life cast of a proxy of the artist aged 75, location unknown, and looks from the present (2025) towards the future and the realisation of The New Oracles AI Superintelligence future prediction (2050).

The transparent glass heads floats on top of a computer case made from a pair of deconstructed US made antique typewriters. A reference to earlier machine history and the deconstructed form of home-brewed cases associated with known Apple-1s. The case contains a fully functional replica Apple-1 motherboard. This represents the artist’s nascent personal computing brain 1975-76 and highlights the synchonistic relationship between the artist and the Apple-1. Both the artist and the Apple-1, the first pre-assembled personal computer, were born in the same month, March 1975. The motherboard is connected to a monitor inside the Janus heads and a keyboard via an analogue interface rendering it fully capable of running original Apple-1 programmes. The screen displays the date 1975 and the words Hello World in flashing Steve Wozniak “Wozmon" basic script. This is a reference to the Hello World computer program used to test that a new computer can run code. It is also the playful first words of the artist on his and the Apple-1’s birth.

Hello World (Self portrait as Janus, 1975-1995 / 2025-2050, with Apple-1 brain), is a multi-media diachronic self-portrait in the form of Janus. A contemporary Janus who presides over a world society in transition from the personal computing and internet of 1975-1995 to the fully digitised and AI-powered Superintelligent Metaverse of 2025-2050.