If television is our shop window on the
world, scratch has just chucked a
brick through it, and is busy looting
30 years of goodies, with abandon.

Andy Lipman, City Limits, 5th October 1984

The term “scratch” is borrowed from New York rap music, but the essence lies in editing. Parts of newscasts, commercials, and popular shows are edited with sounds, words and music to create sharp political statements and pure entertainment.

Michelle Kinnamon, The Post, Athens Ohio, 4th May 1987

Scratch video made a strong impression last year. It provoked the video art community and enchanted the media. What was surprising perhaps is that video art was there for the taking by the scratch contingent – it didn’t seem to displace an ongoing centre of energy but rather filled a void in what seemed a fragmented and rather tired idea.

Michael O’Pray, Art Monthly, April 1986

Scratch video establishes a radical new approach to television itself. It abandons the idea that TV images are mere representations of what’s real. It starts to disassemble the images themselves by indulging in orgies of editing. In a sense scratch is the epitome of what professional broadcasters would call irresponsible television.

Benjamin Woolley, The Listener, 14th Sept 1986