Communion (2020)
Communion is an immersive world populated by hundreds of procedurally generated dancing lifeforms. The creatures evolve from primitive cellular structures to complex, multi-limbed beings, embodying living characteristics and personalities. A polyrhythmic soundtrack amplifies the energy in the 360º audio-visual installation, implying a sense of unity and community between these curious mutating creatures.
We originally made and exhibited Communion in 2011 in collaboration with field.io for the major solo show Super-Computer-Romantics at La Gaite Lyrique, Paris. Communion (2020) is a complete reworking of this artwork, using custom-made procedural software, rendered in fine detail.
Available for licensing, screenings and exhibitions
Exhibitions
- LUX: Poetic Resolution, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, 2023
- Lifeforms, 180 Strand, London, 2022
- Communion, Thoma Foundation, Santa Fe, 2021
- Beyond Human, VR exhibition, Oculus Quest, 2020
- Super-Computer Romantics, La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris, 2011
When we made Communion in 2011, the aim was to create the sense that you're surrounded by life, rather than abstract digital shapes. This immersive 360º audio-visual installation brings together a bouncing grid of hundreds of unique multi-limbed organic beings, which pulse to the soundtrack in synchronised rhythm. A unified community of creatures evolve and dance in front of us, along to an electronic soundtrack – like dancers in a rave lost in connected euphoria.
In line with much of our work, there is a sense of joy in their experimentation. Here technology is a friend, not a foe.
Credits
Creative Director: Matt Pyke
Design and Code for 2011 version : Field
Procedural Animation: Chris Perry
Sound: Simon Pyke