Lost Calls of Cloud Mountain Whirligigs (view 2, left & right)

Two computational systems created by V Isley & P Smith (aka boredomresearch) in 2010 as part of their new series. They consist of an environment that runs in real-time, shifting slowly from periods of brightness to darkness. Continuing to explore extended time frames but also pursue stillness and a gradual shifting state. The different groups of flying machines called Whirligigs have a biological and mechanical appearance. Occasionally, they call out their unique song, seeming restless in their abandoned world. When darkness falls the Whirligigs pulsing lights and glowing smoke calls are electrified. Each Whirligig group has a certain lifespan and when this ends a new generation is created, with unique calls, propellers and nose cones patterns. They all have an energy level and when this drops they try and perch on a wire to rest and recharge, slipping gradually into hibernation. This artwork uses a new compositing tool developed by boredomresearch to allow for the live compositing of animations. The animations rely on artificial intelligence to move the characters they include and do not require interaction. boredomresearch often think of themselves as employing computer gaming technology to create landscape paintings and life studies that move. Many of their works have been created using modelling techniques similar to those used by scientists to study naturally occurring phenomena. However their aim is to create something new of intrigue and beauty. This artwork was produced using Processing and Blender 3D

Real Snail Mail

boredomresearch exhibited the Real Snail Mail installation in Process as Paradigm Exhibition, LABoral Centro de Arte y Creacion, Gijon Spain (23rd April - 30th Aug 2010). A group exhibition which is showing artwork that is continually evolving and in a state of flux. the exhibition includes artworks by Ralf Baecker, Gregory Chatonsky, Peter Flemming, Roman Kirschner, C.E.B. Reas, Antoine Schmitt and Ralf Schreiber. Vicky Isley & Paul Smith (aka boredomresearch) in 2009 developed an installation version of their project Real Snail Mail (www.realsnailmail.net). The world's first webmail service to use live snails to deliver messages. The Real Snail Mail installation enables an audience to view the webmail service live and the RFID tagged snails housed within an exhibition open top table enclosure, with multiple RFID readers, substrate and planting

Real Snail Mail: Installation

Vicky Isley & Paul Smith (aka boredomresearch) in 2009 developed an installation version of their project Real Snail Mail (www.realsnailmail.net). The world's first webmail service to use live snails to deliver messages. The Real Snail Mail installation enables an audience to view the webmail service live and the RFID tagged snails housed within an exhibition open top table enclosure, with multiple RFID readers, substrate and planting. boredomresearch exhibited the Real Snail Mail installation in the British Science Festival, Guildford (5th & 6th Sept 2009). One of Europe’s largest science festivals, bringing the public the latest in science, technology and engineering

Great Jumping Hexapods!

Vicky Isley & Paul Smith (aka boredomresearch) were invited to write an essay (1,000 words) for the British Council publication which is accompanying the exhibition & symposium 'On the Edge of the World' at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (14 May —15 July 2010). In boredomresearchs' essay 'Great Jumping Hexapods!' they explain their research into natural systems and how they explore these inspirations in their own generative systems. 'On the Edge of the World' publication is in full colour, 200 page in English/Spanish with additional artists' work, 11 essays and historical material exploring the subject more fully

Real Snail Mail

RDFID tagged snails were used as part of a messaging system in order introduce an element of uncertainty in the the delivery mechanism. One inspiration for the project was the Slow Art movement which aims to make people slow down and think about what they are doing. This project was a collaboration between Boredom Research within the Media School and The Creative technologies Research Group within DEC at Bournemouth University

Best Before...software artworks may be seen after this date; however their quality may be affected by improper storage.

Isley and Smith (aka boredomresearch) in this paper examine the implications of exhibiting digital art beyond its sell by date. Although we ensure all works leave the studio in peak condition we cannot guarantee an indefinite shelf life and some conservation may be necessary to ensure works remain at the high standard you expect. To assist you in this process we have prepared a presentation outlining the key areas for consideration. This does not affect your statutory rights

Fragments of Lost Flight

This work was developed by Isley & Smith (aka boredomresearch) for the Intuition and Ingenuity National group touring exhibition in 2012 that explores the enduring influence of Alan Turing – the father of modern computing - on art and contemporary culture. Other artists in this exhibition include Roman Verostko, Patrick Tresset, Paul Brown, Ernest Edmonds, Gordana Novakovic, Greg Garvey, Anna Dumitriu and Alex May

Simulated Despondency for Robots in Distress

It is widely accepted that increased human interaction with natural systems is responsible for complex environmental issues, with most current thinking centered on the provision of advanced technological solutions. One response emerging from current bioinspired robotics research proposes artificial neural networks (ANNs) enhanced with artificial hormones for increased performance and efficiency. Here the authors discuss their artistic project concept, developed in collaboration with a bioinspired artificial life lab, considering the affordance of emotional robotics to develop despondency in the fiel

Ornamental Bug Garden 002

OBG002 is part of a series of wall hanging digital self-contained systems. This series of works combines gaming techniques and artificial life modelling to explore relationships between scientific modelling techniques and ornamental gardens. In a garden, elements are composed and managed in a way that tries to be natural whilst often combining formal sculptural elements to create a place of tranquillity and relaxation. In artificial life modelling the purpose is normally to understand or predict how a natural system may behave in certain circumstances. Here we attempt to combine the two approaches by building a population of modelled life forms into a formally arranged space with a compositional and aesthetic agenda. The individual elements of OBG002 have been generated algorithmically using software created by us, before being carefully composed in their final form. In building the garden we become the designers of closed ecosystems. In addition to considering the shape colour and form of the elements used within the garden we must consider their effect on the overall ecology of the system. For example certain behavioural characteristics or population numbers could cause the systems to reach a state of entropic stagnation. The complexities of the overall sound composition are the result of emergence within the systems. As OBG002’s colonies of objects catapult around a garden containing bubble pumping lifts and algorithmically composed plant life. Collisions with its elements trigger sounds and compose an incidental sound piece. Although OBG002 uses modelling techniques similar to those used by scientists, instead of aiming to understand something existing, we hope to build something new of intrigue and beauty. OBG002 is a biosphere; a close system like the earth taking only energy as its input other than that nothing enters or leaves. As such there is no human interaction with the system. The work is built using computer technology to execute the rules that cause the system to behave in its unique way and not in order to make it respond in any form to any external forces