The interactive project "Think about the people now" is based on a true event. Paul Sermon collected information and statements about a man who set fire to himself in public protest. He combined everything in a hyper-media environment. The user can now do his own research using an interactive process.

I believe the question of relevance for computers in Fine Art practice is in some ways a contradiction in terms. Judging by the present state of our technological culture, I would prefer to reverse the question and ask what or where is the relevance of "Fine Art". I have lived, and studied Fine Art in Britain all my life. From the experiences and reactions I have received abroad in the US, Australia, France, Germany and Austria, it is commonly accepted that the computer system has a vital part to play within the creative work place of the artist. However, in Britain it is viewed in a very different light, that of the typically British romantic notion of the Art World.

The position of Jean Baudrillard is of paramount importance to my work in telematic events and Hyper Media environments, the question of "truth" in the culture of screens, a post modern position on the divorced nature of our culture, from a semiotic reality. For a telematic artist, the views of Baudrillard would seem out of place, but I do not believe this is any reason to return to the canvas. It only helps to define our context further and enable the telematic artist to reach a more finite conclusion, and comment on the change in global activity.

The Monday after the Remembrance Day Ceremony in Whitehall, London, I was faced by the media announcement of a man's "protest" which took him into Whitehall, where be covered himself in petrol and set light to himself shouting "Thinkabout the people now" whilst running towards the Cenotaph. The media coverage varied from the colourful sensationalism of The Sun to The Times concern about how distressed the Royalty were by the event. At the time I had no idea that this event could filter its way into my work. What interested me initially was the extreme media blackout which followed. Only the tabloid newspapers covered the event, with the exception of small mentions in the more formal papers. Nothing was reported the following day in the newspapers or on the television. Soon after the event, I started working with the development of Hyper Media - one of the latest technological advances, to organise data into a network of interlinked files, enabling users to browse through a computer system by selecting icons that lead to images, text and further icons. I discovered, with careful planning that this method of data organisation can lead to the simulation of an environment narrative.

The work I am now pursuing is essentially simple in its formal presence and technical achievement. It is therefore the subject matter that I am dealing with that makes this piece of work unique. The user of this Hyper Media Remembrance Simulation starts at Westminster Tube Station; and by moving the joy-stick in the desired directions, can travel around Whitehall through animated scenes of video footage. The paths often cross over allowing the user to swap paths and enter other referential analogies to this dimension of reality, which I see as influential to the overall concept. Diagrammatic information and newspaper coverage is always at hand by selecting icons that appear throughout the walk. In a sense, one may never discover the event that takes place at 11 a.m.during the two minutes silence. However, one may hear an ambulance go past or hear someone else mutter some horrified words. Through the users cause and effect of decisions made, they could find themselves in any one of sixty-four situations around Whitehall, including the choice of setting fire to themselves. The accountability of the user's position within the Whitehall environment during the incident represents the conflicting perceptions of the event. The cause andeffect nature of the program lends itself to the concept of social construction; each user has the potential to carry out this task. This work could also be termed "A Moment in Time". The work is essentially about being in the right or wrong place (Whitehall) at the right or wrong time (11a.m. - two minutes silence), depending on the user's decision.