website
2006 – 2017
The Forest was produced in collaboration with spambots. These automated bits of code, created by programmers I don’t know at all, post strings of text to an online guestbook. The site replaces certain combinations of letters with small graphics. The result is a machine producing a constant stream of quasi-pictographic digital writing. In a way, the text is a mirror, reflecting the preoccupying thoughts of everyday web surfers whose search terms provide fodder for the bots to regurgitate.
The server hosting this site became impossible to maintain in 2017.
An interpretive guide is offered here: Navigating The Forest
Noosphere #1 is a good representation of what visiting The Forest looked and felt like when it was operational.