Complexity Theory

From my previous studies in complementary health I developed an interest in complexity theory. I find this subject intensely fascinating and relevant as it essentially explains how systems, or specifically complex or chaotic systems work. An understanding of this enables us to see how so many events in life are defined by and work according to certain unifying principles, from the human body, how crowds behave, down to the stock markets. Clearly I am no physicist but I do think that through the understanding of complexity and chaos theory, science is beginning to reveal some of the ideas that certain religions and mystics have espoused over the centuries, that we live in a rhythmic, pulsing universe that is endlessly creative. How this is at all relevant to my project, or my interest, that much is clear to me. As mentioned in my earlier blog entry, rhythm or motion is one of the key subject matters that I am interested in, and specifically the rhythm of life that is typified by a balance or tension between chaos and order. How I will translate this in art or the medium I will use will be something that I will probe and evolve over the next few years.

The following images are experiments in attempting to draw chaos/order.  I covered a square piece of paper in rhythmical up-down marks in blue and green colour pencils whilst listening to a piece of music. The paper was systematically folded to create a 3D 'rhythmical' paper structure. In the first two images, the drawing was manipulated in photoshop to attempt to create a tension between the order of the paper folds and the chaos of the marks. In the third image, I created a collage in photoshop using a still from a movie I made of trees whilst in a moving vehicle. I chose this photo as the blurred image is reminiscent of the gesture of the drawn marks. The fourth and fifth image is a mixture of the drawing and the photographic image. I think this idea can be pushed further in generating numerous combinations for 9, 16, 25, 36 square collages...so that the iterative effect of the work mimics that of the chaotic systems in nature.