This installation features two Mac computer programmes made during the LabCulture digital arts residency in 2002. The programmes mimic the common typing test, but rather than telling you your speed or accuracy, they inform you of the equivalent number of TicTacs or peanuts you are burning off whilst typing. Bowls of TicTacs and peanuts are installed alongside the two Macs for hungry participants.

This installation features two Mac computer programmes made during the LabCulture digital arts residency Harrison completed at Watershed in Bristol from 15 – 22 September 2002.

The two programmes were designed to be installed side-by-side on two iMacs alongside snack bowls full of TicTacs and peanuts. The installation was shown as part of the Re: Thinking: Time exhibition at Peterborough Digital Arts (now The Space 4 Gallery) from 10 April – 23 May 2004.

The TicTac Typing & Peanut Typing programmes each calculate, and illustrate on screen through a video clip, the amount of typing required to burn off the energy contained in either a TicTac or a peanut respectively.

Each programme randomly generates a piece of text for you to copy. As you type this at a steady pace, a video of a person consuming a TicTac or a peanut plays. The duration of the video in each programme is equal to the time taken for you to burn off, through typing, the energy contained in either a TicTac or a peanut respectively. For a TicTac containing 8.3 kilojoules this is 66 seconds of typing and for a peanut containing 12.4 kilojoules this is 98 seconds of typing.

The programmes were created using Max MSP software with production assistance from Duncan Speakman.

TicTac Typing & Peanut Typing Photo: Ellie Harrison