‘Ecluse’ is a commissioned generative artwork! It is a series limited to only 6 editions: each token triggers a protocol whereby the artist hand paints and signs a physical edition for the collector. ‘Ecluse’ marks the culmination of a reflection which began with ‘Aqueduct’.

This project was born of the desire to confront the human hand with the algorithm and the machine. The primary goal of this program was to build a protocol that I had to interpret with both plotter and paintbrushes. It’s not a question of opposing, but rather of combining the precision of the algorithm/machine duo with the sensitivity of manual work. These forms can be seen as a kind of score to be interpreted, in a way replaying the similar/singular relationship seen in generative art. Each edition follows the same rules, but each iteration has a different property and appearance. In the work of Écluse, the process involves manual work that will bring out even more uniqueness, or singularity.

This project grew out of a fascination with scientific imagery, which can be seen as graphs, with peaks and troughs. A viewer might think that the program uses a data source to build these shapes, but it doesn’t. It uses data that it generates itself. In a way, the shapes it constructs are not used to analyze and understand something external, but to understand how the program itself works. There is a central self-reflective quality to the algorithm at play.

The biggest challenge I had to solve with this project was to reconcile screen and paper, while not favoring either of them. I developed the program by trying out different drawing techniques (with my plotter as well as with my physical watercolors). There weren’t two distinct phases where I elected to favor one version and reproduce it on the other, it was all systematically done side by side. As the program evolved, it was tested in the physical world. I practiced these two mediums (code and painting) at the same time, making sure that I stayed within the boundaries of feasibility.

 
See the generator on Foundation