The practice and 'pathologies' of photocopying

Outside of contemporary art practice, the act of photocopying is by-and-large not given much consideration by general users and is only granted limited treatment within discussions of electronic media. This paper seeks to redress this, by speculating on the practice of photocopying and some of the less remarked on behaviours and 'drives' which motivate and structure this practice. It begins by sketching briefly the development of commercial photocopying technologies and some of their artistic uses. Then, drawing on various written accounts and observational research in a large public research library, it explores a number of 'pathologies' or curiosities of behaviour and motivation which attend and characterise the act of photocopying. The paper concludes by suggesting that gaining insight into these patterns and processes can contribute to a richer understanding of the practice of everyday photocopying, as well as human-machine interaction more generally.