S. Ryan O'Connor

**Axo is an abstraction of the human mental condition.** 

Each work has neurons. Each neuron has a nucleus at its source and fires electrical signals searching for synaptic connections. 

The signals, or in this case, pixels, act in accordance with the current mental state, which periodically enters states of stress, awareness, re-centering, reprogramming, and more.

The work explores the brain’s ability to change its synaptic pathways, materializing our cognitive flexibility and rigidity, inviting us to consider what barriers prohibit growth and positive change.  **Axo** is part observation of my own mental state and part research, analysis, and reflection. 

We are all a node on the societal network. The effects of our individual state ripple out impacting the network as a whole. As such, each **Axo** can be connected with and influence other works in the collection. Awareness can spread and evolve the network, or stress can cause chaos.  

**Axo** opens a dialogue on personal growth and societal change at the intersection of cognitive science, art, and technology, inviting us to envision a better existence and a harmonious network, underlining that this utopia is only a shift in perspective away. 

**Axo** is fully responsive & built using my pixel-easing algorithm. Pure javascript. 19kb.

**Interactivity**

Each Axo has a default state, though the viewer can also take control and influence its state of mind using the following keys:

"a" => awareness
Toggles awareness

"f" => freak out
Toggles a freak out.

"p" => stuck in past
Toggles being stuck in the past. May not do much while in awareness.

"c" => centered
Toggles centering the state of mind.

"d" => disabled fate
Disabled fate disables any auto-state changes, so the state of mind will only change with interaction.

"w" => willed experience
Axo can be curated by the viewer and replayed later. By pressing W,  all interactions up to that point will be collected and the work will reload with a new link that can be saved and replayed at any time. 

"0-9" => rigid pathways at specified reprogramming

Axo’s current state can be preserved at any of the first ten states of mind. If a viewer were to press 8, Axo would flow through the first seven changes, then stop at the 8th state change. 

"z" => scale up
"x" => scale down

Scale up/down to view in more detail, improve performance, or just gain a different perspective.

"s" => save a still

Each Axo can be curated using the keyboard, query string, and/or programmatically posting messages from a host page.

Axo is an art project by S. Ryan O'Connor, aka jiwa.

The Curated Collection includes projects that have been selected by Art Blocks’ Curation Board for their world-class innovation, technical rigor, and aesthetic beauty.

curated

This collection comprises projects screened and selected by Art Blocks and embodies our standards for artistic creativity, conceptual rigor, and technical achievement.

presents

This is the place where we tinker. What lives here is free of theme or architecture but the one common strand is that these projects all grant us delight.

explorations

The Art Blocks × Pace collection includes boundary-pushing generative projects by select Pace artists developed in partnership with Pace Verso.

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Through an exhibition program that extends across galleries globally, Art Blocks × Bright Moments showcases and launches the work of acclaimed natively generative artists.

S. Ryan O'Connor

Axo

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