On the encoded mystery of life
This is a very experimental project about the intrinsic non-arbitrary code that defines creation in a human paradigm.
produced by: Julia Creuheras
Introduction, concept and background reaserch
For this project I wanted to narrate a story. I wanted to narrate the story of nature seen from a coding perspective.
The cubes tell a story that starts with the element of Water. Water falls with the shape of rain and inundates the soil, the Earth. Then, a seed falls and the seed (the potential of life) is materialized into actual life, a fractal tree, Mater. The Wind blows and the seeds are spread. The seeds, the potential of life, then, are turned into a geometric shape, a square. It is believed that geometry is sacred because of its perfectness. Therefore, comes an explosion, Fire. Fire destroys everything and makes the game of life start again. However, matter is not destroyed, it is transformed. So the loop starts again, the eternal loop. Like life itself.
I wanted to evidence the fact that life can be reduced to code, but just in a human paradigm. That doesn’t explicitly mean that there is a code behind nature, but that humans could reduce and abstract reality into code. Which is creation (humans) pointing themselves, again, an eternal and ethereal loop. It can be as frustrating as encouraging to realize that we embody an ethereal bulb of matter that is ruled by code. Our decisions, our thoughts, our mind and body is ruled by neural encoded connections.
Such as in Swarm intelligence, evolutionary algorithms, artificial neural networks, artificial immune systems, artificial life, molecular computing, DNA computing, fractals and quantum computing. This theories make evident the existence of a shaping intelligence that can be called God, Code, or however anyone wants to call it.
Technical
I coded the graphics with Open Frameworks. Using the sin wave to create movement, the recursive functions (fractals), perlin noise function to give it a smoother movement.
The actual shape was made of cardboard cubes and white paper to smooth the edges. Then, the code was mapped using ofxPiMapper.
Future development
For a future project I would like to improve my code skills to make the story more explicit as my knowledge of natural computing.
Self evaluation
In terms of explicitness I think I should have added text to emphasize on the information embedded in the code that I am trying to explain. However, I also like the fact that each viewer can understand the piece in their own way and as the viewer creates another story while trying to understand it, the piece exists in infinite possibilities as it’s meaning is reinterpreted. So the piece is expanded and expanded creating new enfolded meanings like life itself.
In terms of the shape, I could have used a shape that would enlighten more the concept I was trying to explain throught the projection. A cube pyramid is often seen in temples of ancient cultures such as in Chichén Itzá temple in Mexic, which enhance the divine. That's why I chose it. However, now that I see the project with a perspective, another more elavorated shape could have worked better.
References
'The nature of code' – Daniel Shiffman
`The game of life’ (1970) - J. H. Conway’s simplified CA
'Tierra' - Thomas Ray
L-systems, plant development, genetic algorithms and fractals