In Formation, White Cube Mason's Yard, London, UK
13 November 2019–18 January 2020
In Formation was the culmination of a collaboration with Antony Gormley that spanned more than two years. During this collaboration, I developed a computational design process that generated hundreds of unique digital aggregations which formed the basis of the sculptures exhibited in In Formation. Combining fixed geometric rules with controlled randomness, the system produced complex digital substrates that balanced coherence and unpredictability while allowing for a virtually limitless range of outcomes.
Working from digital scans of his own body, Gormley intervened on these generated forms, carving and shaping figures that appear simultaneously embedded within and emerging from the surrounding mass. The resulting geometries were translated into physical form through the fabrication and assembly of individual blocks before being cast in iron using the ancient lost-wax process, with sand moulds capturing the complexity of the final compositions.
The project drew inspiration from Michelangelo's unfinished Prigioni (Slaves), in which the veins, imperfections and inherent qualities of the marble become active participants in shaping the sculpture itself. Rather than imposing form onto a neutral material, Michelangelo's late works reveal a dialogue between artistic intent and the constraints of the stone.
Each rusted figure appears to extricate itself or to take support from a material mass, referencing Michelangelo's famous Slaves, where a body seems to be emerging out of the solid block. Here Gormley asks, “Is the body the product of the block, or the block the product of the body?”
In Formation sought to reinterpret this relationship through digital means. Instead of marble veins and geological imperfections guiding the creative process, the aggregated digital substrate informed the development of each sculpture. By establishing a framework of rules while embracing elements of chance, the generative system created forms that could never be entirely predetermined. The final works emerged from a continuous dialogue between algorithmic generation, artistic intervention and material casting, transforming information into form and form into information.
Image credits: Antony Gormley Studio
