Morphogenesis Series

Evolved virtual flora • 2001-2019

A series of generative digital images of evolved virtual plants inspired by Australian flora

The Morphogenesis Series is a series of digital still images created using custom software based on biological models of development. A rule-based, developmental model is used to simulate the growth and form of selected native Australian species. The rules represent a type of "digital DNA" that defines the growth and development of the of the plant in a simulated environment.

This digital DNA can then be subject to mutation, genetic spicing (where segments of two or more individual's DNA are intermixed) and evolutionary processes, allowing species to evolve based on aesthetic or other subjective criteria. These processes lead to strange, yet somehow familiar versions of archetypal Australian flora. They are structurally and topologically coherent, yet could never exist as real biological form: impossible nature.

The digital DNA generates highly detailed and complex three-dimensional models, which are then rendered as two-dimensional digital images. These digital images are then printed as lightjet prints on archival photo media.

Changing environmental conditions alters the form's development. In the images below the same digital DNA is subject to different environmental conditions (lack of water), changing the overall development.

A limited number of prints from the series are available for purchase via The Artling.