by Jim Ruxton and Camille Turner
installation description
Sync is an installation which expresses the beauty of natural systems. The name of the piece is inspired by the book Sync, written by mathematician Stephen Strogatz. In this book he investigates nature's miraculous synchronization process.
The installation reflects the forces of nature using light as a medium. It consists of a 6 x 6 x 6 , 3 dimensional matrix of lights ( ie. 216 lights with each light one foot from it's nearest neighbour) which have been embedded in fabric pods constructed by Camille.
The intensity of each of the lights reflects calculations of a numerical model which is being executed in real time in a computer connected to the installation. The installation images forces being injected into a 3 dimensional cube of masses suspended in a viscous fluid and separated by springs. Random generators in the computer allow a force vector to be injected into the cube of masses with varying forces, at varying positions and in varying x,y,z directions. The computer also continuously varies the properties of the fluid in which the masses are suspended. As these forces are injected into the computer model, the 3 dimensional cube of lights reflects the forces felt by each mass in the computer. The result is a sensuous display of how forces transfer through various systems in nature.
The waves that flow through the cube of lights are reminiscent of wind in the leaves of a tree, waves in an ocean, flames in a fire, mudslides or many other natural phenomena. Since there are many random variables in the software that influence the behavior of the model each pattern is unique and never repeats itself in the installation. This randomness is what gives the installation an incredible sense of natural expression since forces of nature rarely repeat themselves. The installation captures the imagination of those who see it. Viewers are engaged, sometimes for hours experiencing the mesmerizing display of nature's ebbs and flows.
the artists
Jim Ruxton uses electronics in the installations he creates. As well as working as an artist he works in the film industry creating electronic special effects. He has also worked on numerous science center and museum exhibits. Jim is also a founder and President of Subtle Technologies an organization that creates links between artists and scientists with events throughout the year and its annual Subtle Technologies Festival.
Camille Turner is a Toronto-based media/performance artist and cultural producer. She is a founding member of Year Zero One, a media arts collective which acts as a network for the dissemination of net.art and digital culture. She has presented her collaborative projects, community engagements, public performance and digital interventions at venues such as: Dak’art lab 2004, La Biennale de l’art Africain contemporain, Senegal and Skinning our Tools: Designing for Context and Culture at the Banff New Media Institute. She was a visiting artist at Interaktions-Labor, an experimental media arts research lab in an abandoned coal mine in Gottelborn, Germany and The Container Project, a mobile media arts lab in a shipping container in rural Jamaica initiated by mervin Jarman from the (h)activist collective, Mongrel. Camille is currently artist-in residence at Central Neighbourhood House, a social agency in downtown east Toronto.