Since digital genes determine the form and behaviour of the organism, the genes themselves can be subject to evolutionary processes such as mutation and crossover (mating). Offspring can be selected based on the aesthetic preferences of the artist, giving the the ability to explore an aesthetic space using an evolutionary processes. This represents a fundamental shift in traditional concepts of artistic practice and creativity, since the artist does not explicitly design or create the images – rather, they are evolved. The artistic process becomes one of ‘meta-creation’ where creative ideas are expressed in software that produces the final artwork.

 

Five new plant-like forms were created for the work, based on components of existing Queensland species. These five forms mirror the Platonic solids, reinterpreted here in a ‘fractal’ or generative context. Viewers may recognise, for example, elements of the Bunya Pine and a variety of Banksia forms. These iconic forms remind viewers of native species, yet their appearance is clearly strange and unwieldy.

        Each of the five new species is presented in isolation, starkly displayed on a black background, giving a clinical, formalist feel. Each form has a certain, softness and synthetic beauty, drawing on the dualistic nature of synthetic biology, in promising immense new possibilities. Yet these possibilities also indicate a cost to our own nature and environment of as yet unknown proportions.

        The deliberate use of decay and mutation in these models plays against the ‘super-real’ feel of most computer graphics, suggesting a conflict between the ideal of perfection in computer generated models and the reality of a diminishing biosphere. Concepts of mutation, cross-breeding and genetic manipulation – used to create these images – signal a growing concern over the consequences of recent scientific research in genetically modified plants and animals.