It took a bit of chat, but INSA has returned to Redchurch Street with a bang! Not on the inside with a gallery show, but the outside with a GIF-ITI creation to challenge the static norm. You need to download the GIF-ITI APP from the Apple Store then open it up and look at the artwork painted on the first floor of 28 Redchurch Street to see the piece come alive in front of your eyes.
“It goes without saying: INSA makes incredible GIF art murals. Previously, we’ve covered his apocalyptic GIF-ITI building, and his co- creation of the world’s largest GIF wall painting. Now, with his augmented reality app, GIF-ITI Viewer, you can watch INSA’s handmade creations reveal their full animated glory without ever having to leave the curb you’re standing on.” The Creator’s Project
“Taking the unique practice to the next level, INSA recently launched a mobile app called INSA’s GIF-ITI VIEWER that uses augmented reality technology allows you to see the graffiti move in the palm of your hand through your cell phone’s camera.” Complex Mag
GIF-ITI: THE BACKGROUND
Nowadays, we consume almost everything online: including art. The term GIF-ITI was coined by artist INSA when he started creating his unique animated paintings; an innovative approach to viewing and experiencing artworks produced in the public space.
In over two decades working as a graffiti artist, INSA’s work has been recognised globally for its technical complexity and innovation: in creating the GIF-ITI, INSA’s motivation was to create paradoxical artworks: pieces painted on the street that would only be experienced in full via online platforms, moving his murals to another dimension.
THE PROCESS
INSA’s GIF-ITI are created through a laborious physical process: it’s all about the challenge. INSA will repaint a wall anything up to 12 times, photographing each ‘layer’ as he goes. This has included anything from painting and repainting the entire side of an 8-storey building in a monsoon in Taiwan, to painting 72 skulls next to the Seine in Paris, or spending 5 days in the jungle in Gambia painting a marabout’s mud hut.
With the labour done, INSA heads back to the studio: this is the tense moment in the process, when the artist discovers if the GIF works. Putting all the images together he produces the final artwork, which is then released back to the public space online.
For the artist, the whole process itself goes back to the uncertain status of artwork today: where creations appear and are consumed in nanoseconds, living in an infinite time and space of the immortal internet.
THE GIF-ITI VIEWER APP
Following the widespread success of INSA’s GIF-ITI work worldwide, the London-based artist has been developing his first ever app to interact with his artwork.
Available now to download in beta-version, the GIF-ITI app allows the user to direct their smartphone (currently only Apple) at the static painted wall and see it come to life in its fully animated format. A map showing the locations worldwide adds another element of interactivity, allowing viewers to hunt down INSA’s special GIF-ITI walls IRL.
INSA’s GIF-ITI app is a natural evolution of the artist’s explorations of the interaction between the digital and physical worlds, specifically in relation to artistic practice and new technological developments. The app brings the paradox full circle: taking his hyperreal GIF-ITI art back out into the street.
For those unable to visit the wall locations in person, INSA has also uploaded a selection of static images of his GIF-ITI paintings online. The viewer at home can use the app by directing their smartphone at their laptop. See the VIEWABLE WALLS page at www.gif-iti.com
MORE ABOUT INSA
INSA is an internationally renowned artist based in London, UK. His output includes diverse media from installations to products. His work has exhibited at galleries and museums around the world including the Tate Britain, London. He has worked with select major brands, producing signature products for Nike, Evisu, Warsteiner & more.
GIF-ITI.COM
GIF-ITI.TUMBLR.COM
