GML, or Graffiti Markup Language, is an open file format designed to store graffiti motion data. It’s been used in projects like the EyeWriter, Graffiti Analysis, DustTag, and Laser Tag, all of which have been uploading GML tags to 000000book.com, a site/database where graffiti writers are encouraged to share tags and computer programmers are invited to create new visualizations based on the resulting data. The project aims to bring together two seemingly disparate communities that share an interest hacking systems, whether through code or in the city.
Currently, there are over 40,000 tags in the #000000book database. In Theo Watson’s installation for the F.A.T. GOLD show I curated at Eyebeam, he redraws these tags back into physical space. The cascading display showcases tags in chronological order, from the very first ones drawn by Tempt1, to the most recent captured by a variety of GML-powered apps.