The term ether has in itself a number of connotations; nowadays e-mail and other digital communications which fail to get through are said to have ' disappeared into the ether'. The ether could be described as something, a gas perhaps, which pervades all; fills in the gaps between particles of matter and can facilitate the transmission of information, sound in particular; it's everywhere. It extends to the stratosphere; a romantic medium. The sounds from your CD, radio, analogue recording etc. are all transmitted to your ears through the ether. It is of course now commonly also understood as a term for an anaesthetic; ' to go under the ether'.
In many ways, we're all under the ether when it comes to the vast array of visual information we're subjected to online. The sheer amount of stimuli can be so overwhelming that seeing the true value, beauty or worth of individual images can be difficult. Artists and art students need not, however, be numb to the possibilities this vast reservoir of readymade collage materials offer them. A singular vision is perhaps all that's needed to filter these images and manipulate them into personal, unique views of the contemporary world and a visual reaction to it.