Copies + Computers
Leo Impett & Cindy Roman
Copies + Computers was an immersive digital exhibition presented at the Data Arena at the University of Technology Sydney, a panoramic screen designed for high-resolution, 360-degree visual experiences. The exhibition explored the relationships between copying, adaptation, and digital reproduction through the lens of William Hogarth’s work, drawing primarily on materials from the Lewis Walpole Library alongside other collections.
The exhibition focused on Hogarth’s engagement with copying, both in his own practice and in the ways his works have been reproduced, altered, and reinterpreted over time. Several key case studies illustrated these processes:
Hogarth’s Self-Portrait with the Comic Muse: Originally a painting by Hogarth, then copied into a print, this image was frequently repurposed as a portrait of the artist. The print itself exists in seven different states, each modified slightly. The original copper plate, housed at the Lewis Walpole Library, was relief-scanned, revealing the physical traces of these alterations. Later engravings and copies extended the image’s afterlife.
Hogarth’s Self-Portrait with Trump the Dog: Another instance of self-representation transformed through copying. The engraving, based on his painting, was later reused in a strikingly different context: Hogarth adapted the original plate to caricature the writer Charles Churchill as a Russian bear. Though this alteration meant the original portrait plate no longer survives, fragments of the image continued to circulate in books and prints, maintaining its function as a Hogarthian likeness.
The Four Stages of Cruelty – Cruelty in Perfection: A prime example of how Hogarth’s work was reproduced, modified, and appropriated. Various altered versions exist in woodcut, engraving, and other print forms. Moreover, research by Cynthia Roman uncovered that the image of the dead woman in Cruelty in Perfection was itself borrowed from a cheap woodcut in a contemporary London execution pamphlet—suggesting that Hogarth, often seen as an original satirist, was also engaged in forms of visual appropriation.
Gin Lane: One of Hogarth’s most iconic images, Gin Lane has inspired countless reinterpretations, parodies, and political adaptations. The exhibition highlighted modern cartoonists who have drawn on the image, including Steve Bell, Martin Rowson, and Zoom Rockman, as well as unexpected sources such as a UK temperance movement envelope, demonstrating how Hogarth’s visual language continues to be repurposed across different media and historical contexts.
By displaying these materials in an immersive digital format, Copies + Computers not only traced the long history of visual copying but also examined the role of digital reproduction and computational analysis in understanding print culture. The exhibition invited viewers to reflect on the ways images evolve, persist, and transform through technologies old and new.