BLESH app for iPhone and iPad

Create and share simple GIFs with BLESH, an app based around a 5 x 5 pixel grid which is easy to programme but surprisingly versatile. BLESH can be used to make short dynamic emoticon-like animations, perfect for non-linguistic communication. It is also a great way to learn the basics of animation.

Each looping animation begins with a single empty frame. Tap the circles to make a pattern. Add new frames or duplicate the current one to build up the animation. Use BLESH to edit, play and test it before sharing it with the world.

BLESH is a project by artist Dennis McNulty. The apps name is sourced from Theodore Sturgeons book More Than Human, which centres on a group of humans who function as a single organism by means of telepathic communication. The apps pixel array layout is derived from an early seventies design by cybernetic pioneer Stafford Beer for use in the control room of his Cybersyn system.

BLESH was co-commissioned by Liverpool Biennial and Bluecoat with the support of The Arts Council of Ireland and Culture Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme.