Sequenced

2023

Sequenced is an exploration of generative motion compositions. Line segments are all connected in a loop and move within the constraints of a simple 2-dimensional grid structure. Each segment is assigned a sequence of motion data to follow. Some data is reused, while others are generated in real-time. Together, they act like a musical score but for the visuals. It falls between predictive sequences of rhythmical motion and endless random permutations.

The project is part of my ongoing exploration into programmed motion. It runs in real-time inside browsers. It is created with my own open source tool Ssam.js with help from other libraries.

Sequenced is available to mint on the Solana blockchain.

I took inspirations from music - how it uses repetitions to create impressions and how variations and improvisations bring surprise and vibrancy. Digitally created motion is precise and has regularity but it can go out of control quickly with mathematically applied randomness. It is a balancing act to find an interesting middle ground between being too random and thus boring and being too precise and also boring.

Just like musical score alone is not music, coded instructions are not motion. In music, everything flows over time. Motion-based work, unlike still images, creates a temporal rhythm in-between images. This is something that cannot be described on paper or with numbers in code. It can only be experienced when it is played over time or when the code is executed.

Rules guide visual rhythm, overlapping and shifting to create playful moments of predictability and chaos. You glimpse patterns, then they disappear. Strangely, I find it calming to watch the infinitely generated overlapping visual rhythm it creates.

Exhibition

Click each image below to see live version of the minted tokens.

Press c to show code and press 1 or 2 to change responsiveness. You can also add optional URL parameters: [w] and [h]: set width and height in pixels. (ex. w=1200&h=600); [pr]: pixel ratio. set it to 2 for hi-DPI screens; [ar]: maximum aspect ratio; [bpm]: change speed (ex. bpm=72)