Introduction

As artists we build on a heritage that extends back over millennia. However, many aspects fundamental to our practice trace their origins to the more recent detonation of the first atomic bomb at Hiroshima. The Manhattan Project was the code name for a research programme that produced the first of only two nuclear bombs ever to have been detonated in war. Significantly, it was also the first serious use of computer modelling. The natural world is a beautiful place and we humans have spent our entire history struggling with its complexity. This struggle took a massive leap forward in the years following World War 2, as the relevance of computers expanded beyond the domain of code-cracking and bomb-building to offer insight into almost every aspect of nature's wonderful mystery. Computers and computer modelling are now fundamental to our artistic practice.

Swords to ploughshares

There are many riddles of nature that are best understood through computer modelling, for example, the ability of unintelligent ants to solve complex problems such as finding the shortest route between two points. The simplicity of the rules required to solve what scientists call shortest path optimization has not only been revealed by computer modelling but has become a field of research in its own right. As we started our career, the computational tools necessary for this type of study were, for the first time, freely available to artists like ourselves. We, too, had a fascination with the complexity that exists in natural systems and were keen to find a deeper way to embrace this in our practice. We did not wish to create mere representations of the fascinating forms that exist in nature. We were moved by the way forms, behaviours and patterns come into being and appreciated how the techniques and tools, used by scientists to understand the natural world, were equally relevant to us.

In many ways our practice builds on established practices of artistic endeavour taking at its centre the observation and study of nature. However, we incorporate in all our works the power of computer modelling to go deeper than the surface image into the mechanics of nature's intricate systems. As a consequence, our art works rely on technology both for their production and display. This move from canvas to code has significant ramifications both for the creative process and the life of art works once they leave the studio. Before we struggle with the problems this adds to conservation, let us first explore the relevance of this medium to our practice.