How to Observe the Inner Space of a Complex Biological System through Speculative Simulation

Abstract

We present an approach for composition and performance with speculative complex biological systems. This iterative approach engages with both the content and the context of science through generative visual and sound art. We offer a conceptual framing as well as practical exercises, demonstrated in two cases. By distinguishing the system, its representation, and human observer(s), we clarify influences, material artifacts, and sources of tension. In the case of Dismantling, a live performance using a simulation adapted from a model of the acellular slime mold Physarum polycephalum, we explore a shifting locus of agency during the performance between the observer and the representation. In the case of Feed, a visual and sound installation realizing addiction as a multi-scale process, we explore the generative tension of re-use of a representation to engage with different systems. The underlying biological phenomena can be viewed as complex networks with powerful performative agency and multi-scale behaviors.

Keywords

• Generative art
• Performance
• Creativity
• Creativity support tools
• Complex networks
• Exploratory modelling