Lianne Todd
As an artist with a scientific education, my creations have always come primarily from careful observation of the universe around me. In my compulsion to draw, paint, photograph, and create digital images, lies my desire to understand the underlying patterns we share with all life and with all matter. Textures, shapes, colours, structures and repetitions on every scale seem important to our ultimate grasp of how and why we came to be here, and where we are going. When I look at fractals, I often see everyday things. And when I look at everyday things, I often see fractals. My fractal art is an attempt to bring this idea of mine to light: Fractals are not just a model for, but may actually be, the underlying structure of our universe.
The seemingly biological (or even astronomical?) form of one fractal (created in Oxidizer), and the tunnel-like portal formed by another (created in Spangfract Xtel) have been brought together here to depict this scenario in which one is 'looking through' something. It could be a microscope, a porthole, or a telescope. The reason it doesn't matter is because the patterns of the universe are similar at all scales, i.e., they are fractal in nature. I encourage viewers to use their imagination to wonder what, indeed, is this unique thing they could be 'looking through' at.
As I've been artistically exploring the fractal geometry of nature for several years now, the initial form of this was an obvious choice for me to see the potential in. Stumbling upon a natural form mathematically is, in my mind, akin to the arising of a new life form. Adjusting parameters and choosing the colours and background settings, lighting, etc. is similar to the natural selection process except for the purpose involved. The software I used to create this, Mandelbulb3D, is particularly useful in giving the artist great control over the parameters to witness and take part in the evolution of alien yet familiar worlds. The 'photographs' I take of small portions of these worlds can be as unique as an individual life form.