Digital – the generative system
One of the key principles in my generative work is the exploration of randomness and noise. Most pieces begin with random impulses, which are then reinterpreted through a pre-coded set of rules to produce new, surprising results with each run of the program. I aim to create the impression of a living entity by logically controlling chaotic signals, with random numbers serving as the seeds that make the work feel alive and organic.
In CTRL_DAT, my goal was to incorporate date and time into the creative process. I wanted to explore controlling the results over an extended period, achieving outcomes that are both surprising and predictable. I designed and coded a year-long sequence of unique results that change every minute.
I first picked seventy 7-segment shapes:
...and then generated all symmetrical A/B patterns of a 7×3 grid (there are 127 of them).
Using a pair of shapes (but not identical ones) gave me over 600 000 possible combinations. The challenge was to arrange them in such a way that they didn’t repeat. My initial idea was to store all previously shown compositions and simply avoid repeats, but I encountered a limitation: the controller's memory capacity (32KB). To minimize memory usage, I decided to divide all possible A×B×C combinations (70×70×128) into sectors of 10×10×16, allowing me to cover the number of minutes in a day (1440) for 392 days.
I needed a separate path generator for the 3D array of 10×10×16 that followed specific rules: it had to cover all points, and each step could only move in one direction. The generated path became the unique key I was looking for, distinctive for each sculpture. This means that each sculpture repeats its own daily path, but each day uses a different set of shapes and patterns. Additionally, the order of shapes and patterns shuffles every time the power is reconnected.
The sculpture can display the timestamp in two ways: as the time elapsed since the start, or as the current time. The bottom row of the display shows the time in DDDHHMM format (DDD represents the day of the year). You can switch between modes by pressing the button on the back. Holding the button allows you to restart the timer or update the time. A full instruction manual is printed, signed, and attached to the sculpture.
