jeroen van loon prints the entire gutenberg bible onto 12km of fiber optic cable

for this art installation, jeroen van loon combines text from the gutenberg bible with youtube comments, all of which are printed onto 12km of glass fiber cable. called ‘permanent data’, the piece reflects on revolutionary forms of communication: from the printing press to the internet. 

images by gert jan van rooij

by printing the bible text and youtube comments directly onto the cable, jeroen van loon uses the direct access cable (DAC) itself as a communication system, not the glass fibers inside, which typically transmit data. the total installation spans 12km of cable, which is lain out for viewers to read.  

installation view, utrecht down under, 2020

the gutenberg bible was one of the first mass-produced printed books in europe in the 1450s. printed by johannes gutenberg on his wooden printing press it marked the start of the ‘gutenberg revolution’. today only forty-nine physical copies have (partly) survived. the latin bible text is mixed with youtube usernames and comments that were found below videos on topics such as bitrot, data loss and (failed) back ups.

the very first line of the gutenberg bible

both text sources come from a medium that, in their time, revolutionized the way information was accessed, shared and used. now they’re connected through the question of how information survives. physical paper is deemed a long-lasting source of information, if stored in the right way. digital storage, through cloud systems and hard drives, is thought of as future prove but at the same time extremely fleeting. what of youtube will be accessible in 500 years?

a youtube comment printed onto the cable

a cable is a piece of infrastructure used to transmit data. however, the physical cable itself might very well outlast the data it transmits. permanent data therefore becomes an artifact combining the ephemeral nature of digital data and the durability of physical information and perhaps offers a solution on how to prevent a digital dark age. permanent data was presented during utrecht down under 2020.

the cable reel showing the latin gutenberg bible text with added youtube comments on bit rot

permanent data was made possible with the generous support of utrecht down under, mondriaanfonds and fonds21. the cable was manufactured by twentsche kabelfabriek (TKF) and the printing was done by de koningh.

a youtube comment printed onto the cable

text from the gutenberg bible

a youtube comment printed onto the cable

a youtube comment printed onto the cable

installation view, utrecht down under, 2020

the 12km cable reel

production still: the cable reel to the right contains the entire gutenberg bible

project info:

project name: permanent data

artist: jeroen van loon

with help from: twentsche kabel fabriek (TKF), ludwig loxley (de koningh), andré trip (de koningh), jeremy van den anker (de koningh), ferdy guliker (digital mass)

photography: gert jan van rooij

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom