Artists are increasingly adopting apps such as “Brushes”, “Procreate” and “Sketchbook Pro” to create new work. The “Blue Jay Weeble” exhibit for Research Through Design explores the notion of “liveness” around live, experiential digital painting. The artist Jason Wilsher-Mills will perform iPad painting in an immersive space made up of four projection screens linked to iPads and displaying paintings made with the Brushes app. The installation will create an experience of the artist’s dynamic use of the app as a tool for free drawing and collage.
The paintings will illustrate a research prototype currently being developed around the notion of a “Digital Weeble”. This hand-scale object opens to display a screen interface controlled by biometric sensors which determine what content is revealed to the user participant. The artist will illustrate this concept drawing on his repertoire of pop culture motifs. These includes Batman and the popular 1970s “Weeble” children’s toy. The works additionally reference precious art objects such as the extravagantly bejeweled Fabergé egg which was produced in Imperial Russia and worn on a necklace
