ANIMALAND - Plague

Plague --- few words are as likely to cause widespread panic as this one. We have always suffered under its weight with little hope of any respite. Plague is a generative audio/visual electronic artwork. The concept is simple: to abstract the process of disease transmission and to re-implement it in software as a dynamic, aesthetic object inspired by a natural process that continues to decimate the human population.

Whilst disease may be approached from various human perspectives: that of a victim; a medical doctor; or an epidemiologist for example, the challenge for the artist was to look beyond the horror that the process implies, and to seek in it a sense of wonder at the intricacy of nature. Many artworks have tried to convey the dread and anguish caused by plague. Perhaps it is also possible to marvel at its beauty.

	瘟疫 PLAGUE GENERATIVE ELECTRONIC-MEDIA INSTALLATION Alan Dorin, 2006
Plague --- few words are as likely to cause widespread panic as this one. We have always suffered under its weight with little hope of any respite. Plague is a generative audio/visual electronic artwork. The concept is simple: to abstract the process of disease transmission and to re-implement it in software as a dynamic, aesthetic object inspired by a natural process that continues to decimate the human population. Whilst disease may be approached from various human perspectives: that of a victim; a medical doctor; or an epidemiologist for example, the challenge for the artist was to look beyond the horror that the process implies, and to seek in it a sense of wonder at the intricacy of nature. Many artworks have tried to convey the dread and anguish caused by plague. Perhaps it is also possible to marvel at its beauty.
	Plague takes as its building block the organism, here represented as a simple geometric structure specified by a set of numbers that act like its DNA. These numbers specify the organism's colour and structure as well as its behaviour. Each organism has preferences for mates of particular visual characteristics. These it seeks out in the planar landscape across which it roams. If two organisms encounter one another and are mutually attracted, they may reproduce, giving rise to a new organism. Their offspring inherits DNA from each of its parents, and hence a mixture of their visual and behavioural characteristics. As the organisms wander they may encounter another that is infected by disease. Perhaps this is carried by a potential mate, perhaps just by an organism that is passing by. If the colour of the disease to which they are exposed matches that of the organism, the infection spreads. Some organisms survive infection and later exhibit immunity when re-exposed to the same disease. Others are not so hardy and perish. The process continues indefinitely as the organisms and diseases co-evolve in an ongoing arms race to out-compete one another. The result is a vibrant and dynamic installation that is never the same on two occasions. After its construction even the artist may step back and be surprised by the complex behaviour of his autonomous creation.
Quicktime movie of Plague (88Mb - sorry!) The work was first exhibited at Satellite, Australian Pavillion, for Shanghai Bienalle, 3 - 27 Sept 2006. Summary exhibition requirements: space 3mx5m; square projection screen 2mx2m; Macintosh "Mini" computer; DLP data projector; cabling; 50 watt (RMS) powered stereo speakers. Provided by the artist: Plague software. For further information regarding the exhibition of this work please contact the artist.