Mark WebsterNeural Drawings — Odysseys
Neural Drawings is a series of hand-printed works that began in late 2021. The initial idea for this series took inspiration from Santiago Ramón Cajal’s illustrations of neurones. This body of work also builds on earlier personal thoughts revolving around the theme of memory and emotion. I'm interested in the role that emotion has to play in memory and consequently how we construct as well as deconstruct thoughts. These ideas are accompanied by my readings of Antonio Damasio, Oliver Sacks, Robert Sapolsky and Lisa Feldman Barrett.
On a technical level, the work combines traditional generative algorithms with contemporary neural network techniques. To create these images I first make my own tools using software as my main medium. I write programs that execute algorithms. The images generated from these software tools are then fed into a Convolutional Neural Network in order to explore the formal structures and apply further stylistic features. Finally, and to accentuate the concept of memory, the idea of impression, each image has been printed using a traditional printing press and from one master matrix.
The particularity of this body of work is in the mixing of a variety of techniques. The creation of the image starts from a very abstract idea and develops from concept to text (as code) to digital form and eventually finding its final state as a physical printed work of art. Each of these processes make for a unique artwork.
Mark Webster
