What is ojack.xyz?

Updated

ojack.xyz is the personal site of Olivia Jack, an artist and programmer. It is a portfolio-style index of her creative-technology work rather than a product site or blog. The site presents browser-based software, live-coding tools, sound and visual projects, performances, and workshops — most notably Hydra video synth, a live-codeable video synthesizer that runs in the browser.

Who the site belongs to

The site is titled "olivia jack | olivia jack" and describes its author simply as "artist &&& programmer." The work listed spans browser-based software, C++, cartography, computer vision, dance, data visualization, drawing, installations, live coding, media design, museum work, performance, sound, visual scores, and workshops.

What the site showcases

The homepage is a chronological project index. Each entry pairs a project name with a year and a set of tags, so you can read the site as a running record of Olivia Jack's practice across code, drawing, and sound.

Project Year Tags What it is
Hydra video synth 2023 browser-based, software, live coding, hydra Live-codeable video synth and networked coding environment that runs in the browser
fubbles // function scribbles 2020 drawing, live coding Research into drawing as an interface for creating live-codeable functions in real time
PIXELSYNTH 2016 browser-based, software, sound Browser-based synthesizer for creating sound from images and drawings, inspired by the ANS synthesizer created by Evgeny Murzin in 1937
Hybrid Interfaces: drawing and code 2022 workshop, drawing, hydra Workshop held at Algopolis, ljudmila hacklab, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2022)
Rarefacció listening cycle 2022 sound, visual scores, drawing, performance At hangar.org, Barcelona; drawings create a live visual score for clarinet and control pitch and rhythm of looped audio
uniquemagicalbrowserobjects.com 2021 browser-based, hydra Web gallery of collectible code sketches, auto-generated for each donation to hydra video synth
videoface 2020 software, hydra, drawing Hybrid code and graphics editor
code sketches 2020 hydra —
live performance w/ Ali Santana 2020 performance, visuals, hydra, live coding At The Living Room Project
hiperfragmentación 2019 live coding, performance, visuals, hydra Described as "the dreams of a machine as it falls apart"

Why Hydra is the center of gravity

Hydra video synth is the project most of the site's other entries orbit. It is described as a live-codeable video synth and networked coding environment that runs in the browser — meaning you write code and see visuals respond immediately, without installing desktop software. Several other listed works are built on or around it: uniquemagicalbrowserobjects.com is a gallery of code sketches auto-generated for each donation to Hydra, and the 2020 performance with Ali Santana and the 2019 piece hiperfragmentación are both tagged with hydra and live coding.

If you arrived at ojack.xyz looking for a tool to use, Hydra is the one to start with. If you arrived looking for the artist behind a project you saw elsewhere, the index is the fastest way to place that project in context.

How to read the site

  • Project name + year + tags is the basic unit. The tags tell you the medium (browser-based, software, drawing, sound) and the mode (live coding, performance, workshop).
  • Workshops and performances are listed alongside software, so the site documents practice, not just released tools.
  • The index is paginated — the visible entries end with page navigation («« « 1 2 3 » »»), so earlier work sits on later pages.
  • There is an RSS feed, listed in the site's own navigation, if you want to follow new entries.

The site does not publish pricing, account requirements, or download instructions on the page described here. For anything involving running the software or joining a workshop, check the individual project rather than assuming terms from the index.