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Naho Matsuda: EVERY THING EVERY TIME
Where city data becomes impractical poetry

EVERY THING EVERY TIME is an artwork by Fault Lines artist Naho Matsuda, commissioned by Great Exhibition of the North. A second iteration of Naho’s original work (every thing every time for CityVerve), the piece transforms data streams from the city into poetic narratives, presented on a large, custom-built split flap display outside Newcastle’s Theatre Royal.

Artist: Naho Matsuda

Date: June 2018
Medium: Public art installation, data poetry
Related: Fault Lines, every thing every time (CityVerve)

Every day, thousands of data streams permeate our cities, largely unobserved. But what if you could see this activity unfold in real time, casting new light on a place you thought you knew?

In EVERY THING EVERY TIME, artist Naho Matsuda navigates the space between society and technology, transforming data about the city and its inhabitants into impractical poetry. Commissioned for Great Exhibition of the North 2018, this second iteration of Naho’s data poetry installation interacts with data from across Newcastle provided by sensors from the Urban Observatory and buildings in the city centre. As Newcastle and Gateshead citizens pass through the city, a poem is generated about their interactions, made anonymous and presented on a large mechanical display outside the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.

Devised and designed by Naho, the mechanical split-flap display resembles the boards once found in city train stations, but with a custom-designed typeface and colour palette that stands out from the usual public furniture or civic spaces. Made up of 120 individual split-flap units, the custom-built display was fabricated locally by Newcastle design studio RASKL.

Stories from the City

To accompany the artwork, Naho also created an hour-long podcast that takes a deeper dive into the stories to be found in the city. EVERY THING EVERY TIME: Stories from the City was made in collaboration with Newcastle-based artist Peter J. Evans. Listeners can take a tour through Newcastle, told through the fascinating stories of the people who live and work there. Meet a local designer, an acclaimed musician and a mathematical cosmologist… to name just a few! In this podcast, Naho and Peter speak with eight very different specialists about their work and their thoughts on Newcastle as a place of innovation, creativity and community.

Podcast Credits:

EVERY THING EVERY TIME

Lead Artist: Naho Matsuda
Narrator: Peter J Evans
Editor & Producer: Vicky Clarke

Location recording & post-production: Danny Saul
Music: Peter J Evans (Selected tracks from the Broken telephone project commissioned by BALTIC as part of the solo exhibition Across islands, divides)

With special thanks to the interviewees: Alexander Iles, Dr Tom Schofield, Culture Lab, Ilana Mitchell, Philip James and Urban Observatory, Dan Rose and RASKL, Sarah Younas of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Richard Dawson, Horace Regnart, Ouseburn Trust, Lit & Phil, and Star and Shadow Cinema.

EVERY THING EVERY TIME is an artwork by the artist Naho Matsuda, commissioned by the Great Exhibition of the north with support from FutureEverything.

The work was shown outside the Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne as part of Get North 2018 from June 22nd to September 9th 2018.

With thanks to Dan Hett, the Urban Observatory at Newcastle University and the manufacturers RASKL.