Seeded by the constellations, algorithmic patterns are generated which spawn, grow and evolve when a presence is sensed.
Co-commissioned by Aberdeen Performing Arts and New Media Scotland’s Alt-w Fund with investment from Creative Scotland.
'In this map of the stars directly above the
Music Hall, updated live as time passes, the fleeting presence of visitors
generates unique abstract animations. Combining this stellar data set and a reaction diffusion algorithm literally brings the heavens
alive.
Restless, vital patterns emerge
looking like cells, fingerprints, fungi, animal markings or brain
cross-sections. We are reminded that all life originates in the stars. Each
iteration hints at the fragile balance between growth and death on which
beauty, harmony and meaning depend.'
The mesmerizing animations, stemming from research by Alan Turing, sometimes evoke fingerprints, sometimes radio waves, sometimes microscopic life. This work nods to the origins of life as well as the origins of computer science.
The video below shows a demo of You Are Here running live. The movement of the stars is normally hard to perceive so for the sake of the video we have increased their speed to give a stronger sense of their motion.
YOU ARE HERE 2019
This work was produced at Lavatown by Ray Interactive. Concept, programming and Design by Sam Healy & Brendan McCarthy. The project is part of Alt-w cycle 13 curated by Mark Daniels for New Media Scotland. Thanks to Leon Gray and the team at Aberdeen Music hall. Big thanks to Paul Neave for permission to mine his Star Atlas web app for data. We're also grateful to Stephan Rafler for his work on the reaction-diffusion model, which can be found here.
