“The idea of connecting GIFs with spatial environments,” Hancocks says, “sprouted from delving deeper into 3D programs with no specific direction.” Hancocks, initially interested in creating still images, began experimenting with 3D modeling architectural spaces; when ANI GIF reached out about an exhibition, the idea of bringing these created spaces to life fell into place. The end result feels like a dream filtered through the familiar textures and incomprehensible spaces of early PC gaming—part Myst, part Internet fever dream, part the glowing white bedroom beyond the infinite, appointed in space-age Louis XVI-style, from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Hancocks claims no lineage to Myst, but the spirit of the 2001: A Space Odyssey bedroom floats through IDLE SELF; although he hasn’t seen the film, Hancocks says that stills of this scene “were very inspiring, in terms of just ambience and feel and how much a space, or even just seeing a space, can have an impact.”
Read More | "The House That GIF Built" | Claire Evans | Omni Reboot | IDLE SELF by Tom Hancocks