The Emotional Impact of Geometry: Reflections on Olga Fradina’s Compositions

In celebration of Unit London Web3’s online exhibition, Building Blocks, we spoke to Olga Fradina about her innovative approach to geometry within generative art.

Inspired by the early 20th century Suprematists and Kazimir Malevich’s provocation that “a square equals a feeling”, Olga Fradina seeks to capture the expressiveness and emotional impact of geometry. With clear lines and a restrained palette, emphasis is placed on shapes in their purest form, offering a space for introspection and spiritual contemplation.

UL: How did you formulate your dynamic and nuanced approach to geometry?  

OF: I like to think of the brain as a kind of metaphorical ‘program library.’ It responds to every new circumstance in a unique, highly personal and evocative way, generating the necessary conditions for creative expression. As we move through time and space, our individual vantage points alter, and so does our view of the world. With this in mind, I always seek a deeply personal approach to the possibilities of creative coding.

My experience as an interior designer for over twenty years has significantly shaped my digital art aesthetic. Working with natural materials over the years has cultivated my love for organic textures and drew me – specifically in my earlier work – to explore biomorphic forms in a digital format. However, as I continue to explore the possibilities of creative coding I’m drawn to more regular patterns and cleaner geometry, exemplified by the work I submitted for Building Blocks. My training in graphic design plays a lot into these renderings. I believe that I am still at the beginning of this journey. I still have much to learn and discover but what tends to unite my practice is a desire to imbue emotion into geometry and demonstrate its potential for personal exploration and expression.

UL: You reference the importance of emotional intent and impact when employing geometry in your art. How do  you move from ideation to output and how do you know when the work is complete? 

OF: Creative coding, for me, is a process of examination and experimentation. I engage in a conversation with the machine, creating systems and rules, but also leaving space for the computer to try things that I may not foresee. Sometimes it begins with an idea, but more often than not I start by playing around with the algorithm, exploring its unpredictable outputs and random discoveries. This spontaneity that is inherent to generative art is exhilarating. I combine this computational randomness with my personal artistic vision. The Bauhaus painter, teacher and theorist, Johannes Itten, once said,  “laws and theories are good in a situation of uncertainty. In moments of inspiration, tasks are solved intuitively”. I think this is a great way to articulate my creative process. I always rely only on my vision. I just feel it.

UL: Do your explorations in generative pattern have any underlying political or social significance, or do you prefer to focus on the aesthetic qualities of the work?

OF: I am very concerned with the social and political aspects of my image-making. Living in Ukraine has heightened this for me as we are constantly experiencing some kind of shock. However, I place emphasis on aesthetics and emotion in my artistic practice, seeking to create work that is impactful on an individual level. I have quite a Buddhist approach to art and life, believing that a happy and harmonious person cannot create a bad society around them. Although I have been featured in prestigious publications for my interior designs, I have learnt that the biggest reward for me is the feedback from my clients. Almost all the people who have lived in my interiors did not want to leave for the first weeks, they were very comfortable there. I hope that my art has a similar effect on people. Experimentation is key to my practice, so perhaps I will change my approach, but ultimately I want humanity as a whole to become much kinder, and if I can somehow influence this with my art, it would be great.

(Scroll to bottom for full interview)

Olga Fradina is a generative and digital artist from Ukraine. She has been an interior designer for over twenty years, with considerable experience and international recognition in this field. In the last year and a half, Fradina has become devoted to researching and producing generative art. She works with procedural 3D graphics and creative coding, looking for a personal approach to the creative possibilities of artificial intelligence. Fradina’s works are characterised by abstract and biomorphic forms, as well as a focus on the study of emotional states. Her creative practice is interested in the dynamic relationship between human and machine creativity.

UL: Can you tell us a bit about your background and journey into creative coding?

OF: I have been drawing from a young age and always been certain about pursuing a career in the arts. I initially trained as a graphic designer and began working in the design department of a newspaper. However, I felt that I needed to do more with my creative energy so I started to produce art in my spare time. Over the course of several years this led me to interior design, a field which I’ve been working in for over twenty years now. Throughout my career I continued to create art for my own personal enjoyment, exploring a variety of mediums, including photography and ceramics. When I first learned about NFTs, I saw an opportunity to translate my design ideas into the digital realm using 3D technology. Аlmost immediately, collectors suggested I should delve into creative coding. Initially I wasn’t sure about this, but once I realised its propensity for aesthetic exploration I started actively cultivating my programming skills. Since then, I have become increasingly interested in generative art possibilities and the dynamic relationship between human and machine creativity.

UL: Do any historical art movements resonate with you and your practice; Do you intentionally draw any parallels between your work and that of the past? 

OF: I’m definitely influenced by all the significant movements in art, however I try to be versatile. Instead of focusing on one movement, I study and try to understand a variety of movements regardless if they are aligned with my personal artistic vision or not. The more I learn about and can be influenced by, the better. I believe that at the right moment, the right thing comes out of my ‘brain program.’ It happens intuitively. As soon as I thought about Building Blocks, the name Malevich – the founding figure of 20th century Suprematism –  was automatically fixed in my mind. From this point on, my ‘brain program’ was running full speed ahead, moving according to this inspiration and materialising images which I eventually submitted for this exhibition.

UL: Are there any specific artists who influence your work /practice? 

OF: I always have a hard time with this question. Of course there are artists whom I love very much, however, referencing them by name as direct, specific influences on my practice would not be entirely truthful. I am passionate about art in general and love to see a great variety of artworks. If something is exceptional, it might affect me at some point without me ever realising it. This is the great gift of humanity, we are influenced by things without even knowing it. For some reason, primitive people applied drawings in caves. What led them to this? Influences are often elusive, ambiguous and fleeting.

UL: Some argue that generative art is hard to access since it requires a certain level of technical skill and expensive equipment. How do you respond to that and how do you ensure that your work is accessible to a wide audience?  

OF: Technology and computers are now so ubiquitous and our virtual connections are constantly being expanded and improved that I think this barrier is becoming increasingly less of an issue. My generation did not start using personal computers from a young age, however I’ve never had problems communicating with a computer. Many of my friends who are a little older than me have difficulty with social networks, and sometimes I struggle, particularly in the Web3 space. When I opened my first Tezos wallet, I didn’t have much time to figure everything out. However, now everything happens so fast. We are increasingly immersed in virtual worlds so it is becoming more of a natural skill. Of course, there will still be people who find technology difficult to master, however I believe that if someone is truly passionate about it, this will not be a serious obstacle.

Stay tuned for more exclusive artists interviews from all the groundbreaking generative artists featured in our exhibition!