In Our Code

The input-output, often referred to as I/O, is a core building block of generative art and any computing system. It is embedded in any operation, program or device that transfers data to or from a computer. Each generative artist included in this exhibition uses a unique system of data entry or manipulation to construct their visual outputs via a specific autonomous system. While this autonomous system, under the control of the artist, creates derivatives, the fundamental idea is that every input results in an output. While the computer inserts an act of randomness, the artist is the constructor of the binary lines of code that provide the underlying framework for the entire creative process.

Here, In Our Code offers insight into the area between concepts of process, behaviour and system by presenting the inputs and outputs together, in dialogue with one another. Rather than solely focusing on the visual output, as one might expect from an exhibition of generative art, this exhibition presents the space in which artists manipulate, control or encourage the computing machine to create. Emphasis is given to the importance of the artist’s role as creator through their relationship with the machine, as opposed to the computational processes used by the apparatus to generate the artwork. By first encountering the stimuli that constitute the artist’s input, and then experiencing the creative output, the viewer is invited to interpret the relationship using their own algorithm – stepping momentarily into the transitional space between I/O and simulating, or re-routing, the governing patterns of this fundamental computational process.