Officious is a series of animations created and displayed on hand held computers, or Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). Watkins animations suggest a rather different relationship with technology, one that is altogether more confusing and alienating. Inspired by the iconographic imagery in personal organizers, the austere, pristine line drawings present analogies for the dumb repetitive activities of the office. In each animation machinery performs a different monotonous task. The elements are familiar and recognisable but we can't understand why these activities are happening.

The works of Dane Watkins are developed from a research-based studio practice that examines how conventional drawing and animation practices can be developed and shown in digital environments such as the web or a computer driven installation. He trained in animation at the Liverpool Polytechnic and has since garnered numerous awards including a European Media Artist Residency (EMARE) at Wekleitz Gesellschaft (Tornitz, Germany), and exStream Residency (Hull, UK), and being shortlisted in New York's Electronic Literature Awards. He has exhibited at LabCulture Symposium (Bridport, UK), The Watershed Media Centre (Bristol, UK), the Stills Gallery (Edinburgh), and Prater Theatre (Berlin).