ERGO/prhizomius

Description

ERGO/prhizomius is a digital, interactive simulation of an algorithmic entity, projected through a screen. The screen is placed inside a capsule, shaped as a cocoon in front of which there is an opening where the viewer can peek inside. The conjunction of biological and algorithmic patterns aims, though a sense of a synthetic organicity, at the creation of an otherworldly being.

The entity, as an artwork, creates a metaphor for life and the survival of the work of art. Through the gaze, the viewer's attention is transformed into data that affects the progress of the artwork-organism, nourishing it in order to grow. The lack of attention inhibits its growth and eventually leads to its decay. Thus, attention acquires a vital role for its survival and development, emphasizing its dependence on its audience.

Behind the scenes

This is one of the first projects on which we worked with Virimine. Also, the first purely art project I've been a part of.

When we met, Anna had already done a lot of the work - designing, experimenting and implementing many of her ideas - so I only joined for the final stages as she needed someone who can help with optimizing the performance and coding some of the trickier parts.

Another very important person for the project was Mina Katsouli, who helped greatly with the design and creation of the physical cocoon surrounding the screen on which the digital entity is displayed.

My role

I gave a few design ideas here and there, but mainly I was helping with the programming side of things. I improved the performance of some existing systems; reimplemented some parts to give Virimine more control and more options to experiment with; and also created some new systems following her designs.