In Tape we see another evocation of recently outmoded technology. It is a close-up of the small window in the middle of an audio tape cassette, through which one can see the tape being wound from one spool to the other. Somehow, in close-up and with hindsight, this mechanical process comes to represent much more. It conjures up memories of a Beckett play, of 1980s mix tapes and uncountable underground editions of the most interesting art and music. We can see the moving image as a representation of the orbits of heavenly objects or as animpossibly complex calculus problem. It is impossibly complex because it is mechanical, messy and unpredictable – and that is its charm. Having reached the digital age, with impeccably accurate sound reproduction and lossless reproduction,we find aesthetic qualities in the imperfections and distortions of earlier electronic equipment.

‍Jón Proppe 2016

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