A track. Some vehicles. An endless chase for lovers of loops.

24 Heures

**Nära explores the connections that make us human.**

Nära (close or near in Swedish) is a celebration of friendships and relationships throughout our lives. How some of them are small, fleeting and ephemeral while a select few become lifelong bonds. The work examines the intricate graphs that are formed by these connections. Graphs are all around us and have existed for as long as we have been human. From early settlements of hunter-gatherers and nomadic tribes to the internet of today. It's all graphs.

Nära allows the viewer to explore and experience these graphs as a metaphor for the organic, organised chaos that is life. Shapes connect from one node in a graph to the next, sometimes spilling over, doubling down and creating layers of intricacy. Imperfection is embraced and Nära exposes the chaotic and unpredictable elements of life. 

The artistic vision of Nära is to highlight and expose graphs in a tactile manner that allows the viewer to see the whole graph, but also engage with the details and texture.  In doing this, Nära attempts to bring a novel contribution by pushing the boundaries of graph representation and introducing an emotional dimension to this oftentimes rigid and scientific discipline. By treating graphs as a metaphor for relationships in life, they become an integral part of the concept and an important artistic tool. 

Nära takes inspiration from the De Stijl movement in reducing the world into a deliberate expression in its smallest form and builds upon the use of shapes imbued with meaning in the works of Hilma af Klint. These ideas are expanded on by accepting that what is deliberate must also relinquish some control through the pseudo-randomness of generative art. This invites reflection on the balance of control and chance in our lives. 

_Through Nära, you are invited to reflect on the connections in your own life and on the significance of the relationships that define us as human beings._ 

To interact with the script:
- Press 's' to save.
- Add the following to the URL:
  - pd=x, where x is a number to control the resolution via pixel density (useful for rendering high resolution stills)
  - rs=x, where x is a number to enable and control the rendering buildup animation.

Nära

Heavenly Bodies is built out of love for the skies and gratitude to the land. The land has always been home to us, steady ground underneath our feet lending itself to finding roots, family, and community. Our homes are as varied as the lands around us, but the common thread of land runs between us, the base need for being grounded. It connects us to each other, and to ourselves. The ground, in its stability, also supports the potential for more: the absence of limits, the open expanse of the possible. The ground gives us a home from which to reach, to strive, to learn to become more than we are. The sky invites us into a future that stands upon the solid shoulders of the past, giving us the tools we need to navigate our way into the unknown. To be human is to love both these things: the steady known, and the uncertain unknown. As we find our footing, the land will always welcome us home, and the sky will always beckon us beyond: to reach, to dare, to go further.

Heavenly Bodies

A labyrinth of geometric specters. Shapes are painted between layers of fog and sometimes presented encased in bold frames. Shadows are cast to create depth and entice the viewer to step inside. Each invocation represents an imaginary room in an abstract maze-like building.

Labyrometry

Tropism is the phenomenon in which an organism's growth is influenced by environmental stimuli. Organisms of all shapes, sizes, and colors encounter varying amounts of external forces as they grow. These environmental stimuli are internalized, and the marks they leave end up being the defining characteristics of a life.

Art Blocks Presents

24 Heures #102

Alexis André

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