Tetravigesima
1 July 2025
Artisan Roast, 138 Bruntsfield Pl, Edinburgh
Presented in collaboration with Artisan Roast Edinburgh, this collection plays with probability, repetition and distortion.
The prints in the collection begin by utilising basic equations to represent geometrical forms as pure date. This data is passed into various transformative functions to manipulate the base structure. The final stage involves converting the data into a form that can be contained within a digital image.
As with much of my work, although the individual stages of an essentially linear process are tightly defined the ultimate outcome, the image, depends upon many arbitrary and random factors generated within the process itself. While I decide the bounds in which randomness and variability operate, features of the process determine the absolute values and quantities that are applied. This means that with each iteration of the process a new and unique outcome is generated, and in this sense it may be interesting to note that all of the images in this collection are completely unreproducible.
As a severely sight-impaired visual artist I rely on the assistance of others to help me make decisions about what to display and what to discard. For this reason I would like to thank the team at Artisan Roast and in particular the Edinburgh artist and maker Sally Price for their assistance, guidance and unwavering support.
You can find some images from the wider collection on the Gallery page.
I will be giving all the prints away at the end of the exhitibition
If you would like a chance to own one of the prints then a handwritten application can be submitted in person to any member of the Artisan Roast team. They can also provide paper and pens on request.
The application can be anything you like but must be in your own hand, cover no more than one side of A4. Please include some contact details and a confirm you're happy to collect it in person (or to pay postage costs if you cannot collect it). Only one application per person please.
At the end of the exhibition the Artisan Roast team and I will make our decision before contacting the succesful applicants. Feel free to be creative!
Who?
I'm a visually impaired artist and musician living in Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm interested in using chance, probability and randomness to produce pattern.
How?
My images are all derived programmatically. What does that mean? In short, I define the number of empty pixels in an abstract plane and then use coding techniques to 'fill in' those pixels, employing stochasticity, randomness, and the variabilities borne of iteration. I being with some sort of goal in mind, but often the images do not turn out as I imagine they would - I miss my goal but hit a different target in the process.
Why?
Why not? I guess I'm interested in the role apparent randomness plays in our lives. A genetic mutation can lead to illness, impairment or death, but the same processes are responsible for the evolution and existence of every living thing. Missing a bus can make us late for an important meeting, but as a result we may have an encounter with a stranger who becomes a life-long friend. We exist alongside apparent randomness, chance and chaos - from the conditions that formed the geology beneath our feet to the dazzling firmament of planets, stars and galaxies above our heads. Are we not the product of countless happy accidents?
