I have been working with some really interesting generative functions in my artwork and I thought you might like to see some of the results.

Convolutions

(Click on the image and type ‘N’ for Next or ‘P’ for Previous)

The kinds of mathematical systems I’m using for these systems are deeply fascinating. All the images you can see in the above slideshow are closely related, even though they might look substantially different. They seem to resemble complicated organic lifeforms and yet the maths that describes them is remarkably simple.

It works something like this: I outline a basic element, let’s say a small lozenge shape and a circle. Then I tell the maths to do a very simple thing – make a two copies of those shapes in the next generation, displace them in space and rotate them a little. Each subsequent generation executes the same instructions.

This simple set of rules gives rise to a branching structure like you might see in a tree. If I add a few more basic commands (a little random variation in the shapes, some colour change over generations) an astonishing piece of magic happens – the resulting images look organic – even like creatures you might find in the real world. All kinds of phenomena that I don’t specifically code (such as asymmetry and textural effects) appear spontaneously.

I’ve only begun to experiment with these concepts and I fully expect to see some truly wonderful results from this work.