Kerry Mitchell

Statement

My work is composed primarily of computer generated, mathematically-inspired, abstract images. I draw from the areas of geometry, fractals and numerical analysis, and combine them with image processing technology. The resulting images powerfully reflect the beauty of mathematics that is often obscured by dry formulae and analyses. An overriding theme that encompasses all of my work is the wondrous beauty and complexity that flows from a few, relatively simple, rules. Inherent in this process are feedback and connectivity; these are the elements that generate the patterns. They also demonstrate to me that mathematics is, in many cases, a metaphor for the beauty and complexity in life. This is what I try to capture.

Artworks

This image represents the warping of the plane produced by the iteration of a complex generalization of a Fourier series, using composed sine and tangent functions instead of just the sine function. A checkerboard image is used as the undistored plane; many iterations are then applied to it to yield the final image.

This image is a manipulation of a photograph of Jupiter's red spot, taken by the Juno spacecraft in July 2017. The image was taken a perijove, the point in the orbit when the spacecraft is closest to the surface of the planet, which gives the image its title. The manipulation was achieved using an iterated discrete form of a complex nonlinear partial differential equation. The form of the equation was chosen for aesthetics, yet the resulting structures suggest the intricate fluid dynamics present in the planet's giant storm.