Project Reflection

 Sitting here and looking back over this project as a whole gives me a whole new perspective into my own relationship with the technological, the algorithm and the machine. Seeing where these works began vs where they are now is testament to the terrific range of utilities the algorithm truly has. I have gained new relationships, views and opinions regarding the machine and have a new found respect for these algorithms that whir away 24/7 to keep our society afloat. In contrast I also close out this project well aware of the potentially dangerous power that is in the hands of these out of control algorithms that are affecting out policing, our healthcare and our social lives.

There were points where lack of inspiration was a problem, where I was feeling totally unmotivated and like I had hit a wall, or such a steep learning curve, within coding that made me feel deflated. Seeing the intricately advanced works of other generative artists and comparing them to my own was a consistent problem within my coding works. Many of these thoughts and feelings are what led me away from the traditional usage of the algorithm and more towards an area of familiarity that I could appropriate into this new, algorithmic landscape.

With every change I made within the project came a flood of new ideas and inspirations, which is why I feel as if the move to a more natural way of working was not only healthy for me artistically/mentally, but because of this also ended up creating far stronger and well thought out pieces. I like having a level of comfort and cathartic elements within my process so to have that back was a huge relief and I felt the ideas and inspiration come flooding back.

Exhibiting throughout the year was such a healthy thing for my work and process. Hearing views and opinions from peers and viewers helped mould the remainder of my project, shifting my work to focus back on the process as opposed to the final piece in order to bring context to the overarching topic of the human-computer relationship and my personal collaboration with the machine. From what started as me creating an 'art machine' through the rudimentary-level coding I had learned grew an actual relationship and collaboration with a machine that required respect for one another.

This relationship taught me many things about artmaking and the relinquishing of authorship was a freeing experience that allowed me to truly experiment in a carefree sense, not worrying about the outcome. The idea of the glitch is what helped me overcome this. The glitch acts on impulse and perhaps with no end-goal in mind. While it is commonly seen as a destructive thing I invited it into my practice and engaged with it, which turned out to be a fruitful decision that ultimately shaped the rest of my project.

Taking a reflective look back at the project as a whole I appreciate the twists and turns, even if some routes may have led to dead ends, I am grateful that I have ended up where I am. My research has been consistently interesting and engaging to me personally and I have an entirely new vantage point that I can view both the art world and the data-science/algorithmic world from that I feel gives me an edge as an artist.

Through collaboration, creating public proposals and experimenting with such a variety of things from coding, to video, to installation I feel I have taken every opportunity I have seen to expand my knowledge and bring in variety to my personal practice that I have perhaps lacked in the past. Of course there are things I would change with hindsight but overall I am excited to have gotten to the point where I am and am even more excited to see where this collaboration could go next.