Matt Nish-Lapidus
Finger Plays
Using the almost-forgotten finger network protocol, Finger Plays tells a story of what happens beneath the surface of the internet that we experience everyday using poetry, fiction, generative text processes, logs, and protocols to create a constantly shifting and evolving narrative space. Finger Plays examines alternative computer network structures, surfaces, interfaces, and relationships, questioning the nature of networked reality through what is hidden or revealed. The work lives in both the web browser and in the underlying finger server protocol, only accessible via the command line, furthering the duality of information above and below the surface of the internet.
Matt Nish-Lapidus makes software, sounds, and texts probing the myth that computers need to be useful rather than beautiful. He holds a Honors Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Media from Ryerson University and a Master of Visual Studies (Studio) from The University of Toronto. Matt’s interests lie in the poetics of computation and its proclivity to create meaningful relations through iteration and recombination. His work results in diverse outputs including books, recordings, installations, performances, software, and objects. Matt has performed and exhibited at ACUD Macht Neu (Berlin), Electric Eclectics Festival (Ontario), InterAccess (Toronto), Mayhem (Copenhagen), The Plumb (Toronto) and many DIY spaces in North America and Europe. You can find Matt online and away-from-keyboard under various aliases and collaborations including emenel, New Tendencies, må, and <blink>.