Ant Hampton

All the Downtime (Time-based Editions #4) is a story told through lip-synced voice, sound, screenshots and something resembling photographs. Except that none of the people in the images have ever actually existed. The images are not evidence of anything that actually happened. And no light was used to create them – only an unimaginable abundance of largely stolen data and thermodynamic energy. What does it still mean to ​“see” today? What are we witnessing, and how do we witness it? In this hallucinatory blend of documentary and dream, dated January 2026, we follow a group of visitors on a guided tour of an automated distribution centre. In this controlled, algorithm-driven environment, a sudden power cut becomes a liberating moment: an opportunity to put our senses back to work.
Time Based Editions is a series of artist’s books, co-produced by Kanal, combining print, sound and performance. Accompanied by a synchronised audio track, the audience interacts with the book over a given time, transforming the act of reading and turning pages into a live, choreographed experience in which the book serves as both the stage and the score.