Icon: Craig Grannell. Fire: LoggaWiggler.

I remember the first time I lost data. A floppy disk went extra floppy, wiping out a C64 ASCII animation I’d made. But for this tragic incident, I’d today be churning out animations so amazing they’d made Pixar weep. At the time, I was mildly upset, but it had never occurred to me to make a back up.

A decade later, I was battling an art college degree show deadline. Most friends were slopping paint about or hammering bits of metal, but I’d gone all tech. My plan involved a live, unrehearsed performance that used the department’s entire collection of TVs and VHS decks, a terrifying amount of cables, and a Mac. This would project animated elements on to a wall, triggered by me stomping on a custom pad a technician friend had made. Damien Hirst, eat your heart out.