↑ Every second of the performance in a single image.

This image precisely captures, down to the second, the recorded instructions, the moments when I lost my attention, and the pauses between sheets.

The performance lasted a total of 47 hours, 55 minutes, and 34 seconds, meaning that the average time per sheet was nearly two hours, twice the theoretical minimum.

Last updated on August 27, 2025

↑ On the left side of the image is the digitized result of the first sheet. On the right side, a visualization of the time required to complete the same sheet.

The red points represent moments when I had to stop due to losing my attention. However, while each point occupies a single square, it does not necessarily correspond to one second. After the performance, I process the data to visualize the actual time required to complete each sheet, expanding the red points to accurately reflect the duration of each break.

The image contrasts the theoretical completion time of one hour per sheet (left) with the actual time required to complete the first sheet (right).

While I knew that the minimum time to complete a sheet was one hour, I could not predict the exact duration of each sheet —let alone the total time needed to complete all 24 sheets.

Pointless, 2021

My task was to follow 86,400 one-bit instructions, randomly generated by a computer at a rate of one per second.

Using a marker on a sheet of paper, I had to either paint or leave it blank according to the computer’s commands (yes or no), minimizing pauses to only what was strictly necessary.

If I lost my attention during the process, I had to stop the instructions, mark in red, and once I was ready to continue, start the instructions again.

At a rate of one instruction per second, each sheet theoretically represented one hour. Completing 24 sheets would amount 86400 instructions.

This performance serves as an experiment to test the limits of my own attention. The absurdity of the task, its challenge-based design, and the chosen narrative and visual language all come together as a playground to explore our understanding of attention —its value and its role in today’s digital society.

Other pages linking to this page:
Daniel Armengol Altayó
Pointless / Attention understood as a scarce resource