In a project called Entropic String, I generate blind contour drawings in decaying / evolving series or layers. I start by making one blind contour of a natural subject, then a second blind contour of that first blind contour, then a third blind contour of the second one, and so on. The errors in copying result in images that change incrementally, accidentally, and the series goes in unexpected directions.

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Cicada Wings Emerge & Decay, detail.

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I want to marry Fibonacci numbers (2019), linen, cotton thread, collaged book illustration, ink on tea-stained watercolor paper, typewriter on cotton ribbon, tulle.

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Above: Studies for Entropic String, ink on watercolor paper, pressed plant material, other materials

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Ground Ivy (2017), ink on tea-stained watercolor paper, red clay, mica, cotton thread.

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Entropic String is a continuation of a theme I started in Contrivances (2010) — see Older Work. I’m fascinated by emergence and complex systems — how small events lead to big changes. Emergence is everywhere: swarms, flocks, hives, cities, traffic, epidemics, evolution, the brain, the internet, the climate… I’m using blind contour series to play with ideas about emergent phenomena.