People

For eight years, using different means in diverse contexts, we have always maintained a dual purpose.  The first objective has been to utilise the convergence and combination of different technologies to produce visually and intellectually challenging artworks.  The second aim has been to extend common notions of narrative, place and identity using cutting edge digital media.

Some of us collaborate because we enjoy working with others.  We think the reason most people collaborate is so that something other than their own experience can be brought to the work.  In our case nothing has had a stronger impact on the refinement of our digital artworks than having the following objectives.

Our first objective was to consider a specific item of hardware or software in terms of what it could do and determine whether or not it would be useful, whether or not it would allow scope for an idea to be developed or communicated.  The second objective was to decide whether the specific qualities of a piece of hardware or software were interesting enough to enable us to build a work of art.  The third was to identify hardware and software capable of doing what we wanted it to do.  The fourth was to make the hardware and software perform in a certain way even if this did not follow the intentions of its inventors.  These four objectives were all considered prior to the actual making of the artefact.

Since childhood, I have always been fascinated by the possibilities of computer based art and graphics during a time of rapid development in technology throughout the 80’s, 90’s until now. There appears to be no limit to what can be achieved in terms of experiences when computers are involved, it just takes imagination and experimentation to push the current limits and it’s often technology that has to catch up.

As a digital artist and designer, my practice resides in the crossover of art and science, with both areas offering equal fascination to me. This interest has lead into the major area of my work, which is focused on digitally created interactive objects and virtual environments. I create these environments through a combination of programming and 3D modelling techniques.

“my practice resides in the crossover of art and science”

Part of my practice involves the investigation of digital media in relation to Kinetic Sculpture. I create 3D interactive sculptural objects that move, and can be influenced by the viewer. One of my sculpture series is metamorphic in nature (changing in form) and the other zoomorphic (animal-like and form changing). Mathematics generates the structure of the forms, through computer programmed graphic technology and physics defines their motions. As such, mathematical equations are my chisel, manipulating a basic geometric form, the sphere.

I have been exploring the possibilities for these virtual kinetic sculptures, from the point of view of the virtual object, and how the audience can experience the material properties of sculptures. The audience experiences a ‘feeling’ of reality with these computer-based creations.

My work with virtual environments is related to the sculptural work. With the environments, immersivity, chronology and audience experience are key features, along with the exploration of the aesthetic possibilities with the medium of 3D computer graphics.

Jeremy Gardiner grew up surrounded by the ancient history of the South West Coast. He has explored it on long walks, boat rides and flights, forever seeking out new points of view. Led by his adventurous spirit, he has discovered the geology of other parts of the world, from the volcanic forms of Noronha, an archipelago 300 miles off the north east coast of Brazil, to Milos, one of the Cycladian Greek islands. But it is the South West that stirs Gardiner’s imagination the most and he is constantly drawn towards it, making new discoveries and finding fresh sources of inspiration as he ventures further into unknown territory.

Creating distinct layers of colour, Gardiner’s working method involves scouring, building accretions of paint, collaging and sanding down, in an attempt to emulate on the surface of his paintings the effects of geological time on the landscape. He combines features from different locations of the coastline in the same paintings, achieving intriguing images that take the viewer on a new exploration of familiar territory, from multiple perspectives.

“Jeremy has walked this coast, ridden it and even flown over it. He has drawn it endlessly, studied deeply its history, its geology and, above all, its palaeontology. All this long experience and innate sympathy, to say nothing of deep and subtle actual observation, he now distils into these remarkable paintings.”

William Packer

Jeremy Gardiner is a graduate of The Royal College of Art and received a BA Hons Fine Art from Newcastle University.  He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship and later a Harkness Fellowship, which allowed him to work in Boston and New York during the 1980s.  He has exhibited his work internationally for many years, including North America, Japan and China. Recent exhibitions include ‘The Coast Revisited’ at the Paisnel Gallery, London and ‘Imaginalis’ at The Chelsea Art Museum, New York City.  His work is held in numerous corporate, public and private collections in Europe and the United States.