Saving México/La guerra que viene

Abstract

Databending refers the practice of bending digital artifacts to the point of malfunction. In digital images this is often achieved through what is called the wordpad effect, where the user opens images in a text editor and tinkers with alphanumerical characters causing unexpected visual results once the file is saved and viewed in a proper application. In the case of Saving Mexico and La Guerra que Viene two digital instances of magazine covers were databended by locating and isolating characters within the files as a way to write two respective poems: Lo siento México por el estado post-legal. & This ugly American gargles traditions. As each character was isolated, by placing it in a line of its own within two vertical bars [| |], a new image was saved until 35 glitched copies of the original were created. These new images were then used to craft two animated GIFs that document and loop the glitch process adnauseum. In this sense, the animated GIFs are only the outcome and require visual references that speak to the process. The uploaded PDFs are the resulting text files after both phrases were written respectively, as such they should be installed as a lead up to the resulting loops. Each page, 25 in total, was printed on heavy stock, letter size opaline paper and mounted on the wall, 60-66 inches off the floor, leading up to the Animated GIF shown on a similar-sized tablet. The isolated characters were highlighted.