Two procedurally generated animations "Threshold" and "In Tangent", made in collaboration with [Betsy Kenyon](https://www.betsykenyon.com/grey-matter). These were installed as part of [Grey Matter](https://art.unc.edu/event/john-and-june-allcott-gallery-betsy-kenyon-grey-matter/), shown from Nov 5 - Dec 3, 2021.

To create these animations I referenced Betsy's work, in particular her "Contact" series. Then using code, I imagined the movement they might make. "In Tangent" transitions between several of these pieces, from circle to square and back to circle. "Threshold" is a grid of nine, each animated at a different speed. They diverge and re-sync for moments of symmetry.

This collaboration became a dialog between analog and digital work. Betsy's analog pieces are each unique, made by hand in a darkroom, without negatives or the possibility of replication. Digital work by nature, however, can be duplicated. The projectors in the gallery are connected to computers running the exact same code as the [companion website](https://shelby.cool/grey-matter).

While complementary, the animations also serve as counterpoints to Betsy's work. They are light projected, rather than captured; they are every moment in a timeline rather than a single frame.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FDEYPAAZds6OLtBKlKwhITXsshnH2%2F2ywqjj317T8mPWf8Ue3y%2F09d2ac62-6cbf-41fb-a3f8-39575589122e.mp4?alt=media&token=2f3d9b8c-cf3e-4f20-9b59-f2a668236e79","id":"09d2ac62-6cbf-41fb-a3f8-39575589122e","width":1540,"height":1460,"filename":"grey-matter.mp4","type":"video/mp4","caption":"Threshold","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FDEYPAAZds6OLtBKlKwhITXsshnH2%2F2ywqjj317T8mPWf8Ue3y%2F8ecd80cc-1239-4ac9-aaef-ab3842959274.mp4?alt=media&token=b79c87fd-b05d-4d63-8d8e-aab6acf6119b","id":"8ecd80cc-1239-4ac9-aaef-ab3842959274","width":1584,"height":1460,"filename":"2c132c2b-96d0-4246-bbb3-80fa3070cf57.mp4","type":"video/mp4","caption":"In Tangent","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FDEYPAAZds6OLtBKlKwhITXsshnH2%2F2ywqjj317T8mPWf8Ue3y%2F98a85d34-8381-44f2-a064-423c7569b1c8.jpg?alt=media&token=7d037e6c-588f-48d1-892c-2da8f9498ea9","id":"98a85d34-8381-44f2-a064-423c7569b1c8","width":1500,"height":502,"filename":"gallery_install_small.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Installation at John and June Alcott Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC","border":true}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FDEYPAAZds6OLtBKlKwhITXsshnH2%2Fgrey-matter%2F20a215b8-44e0-46d3-84f0-90ec69991c0a.png?alt=media&token=0091f3be-30f3-4c59-b5e1-919d04b99c63","id":"20a215b8-44e0-46d3-84f0-90ec69991c0a","width":2940,"height":1664,"filename":"Screenshot 2024-12-14 at 11.40.52 AM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Companion website (shelby.cool/grey-matter)","border":false}]}
```

Grey Matter

[Shadow weaving](https://shelby.cool/shadow-weaving) is a web tool made to experiment with color and weave structure.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FDEYPAAZds6OLtBKlKwhITXsshnH2%2Fn7g3C0sl1tccn1Z8VZoc%2Fb2d42460-b217-4f90-97a6-d0cc933638a4.mp4?alt=media&token=078132d8-2d09-45b6-af0f-0dfe55cbd253","id":"b2d42460-b217-4f90-97a6-d0cc933638a4","width":2464,"height":1536,"filename":"101.mp4","type":"video/mp4","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Each warp and weft thread can be toggled on or off to determine its color, and each intersection of threads can be toggled to change which thread is on top. Intersections of threads of different colors can therefore appear as either color depending on its structure.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FDEYPAAZds6OLtBKlKwhITXsshnH2%2Fshadow-weaving%2Fd50f524c-2513-41c1-8f6d-53f363519320.mov?alt=media&token=ce30e56a-d7de-4918-b250-c9f02008280e","id":"d50f524c-2513-41c1-8f6d-53f363519320","width":1084,"height":792,"filename":"Untitled 2.mov","type":"video/quicktime","caption":"Toggling between colors using structure","border":false}]}
```

I am interested in the way the structure of a weave can determine color, and how that can be manipulated into maze-like patterns.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FDEYPAAZds6OLtBKlKwhITXsshnH2%2Fn7g3C0sl1tccn1Z8VZoc%2F846ad461-4085-44b3-b340-0f78d29d8df8.jpg?alt=media&token=e57546d1-b4bd-499c-b699-9763ae06152e","id":"846ad461-4085-44b3-b340-0f78d29d8df8","width":1512,"height":2016,"filename":"IMG_4426.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

I am exploring this technique using paper strips as well, deviating from a plain weave in order to change the direction of a stripe and changing the overall color pattern.

This project was inspired by [Tauba Auerbach](https://taubaauerbach.com/)'s work after seeing their [show at the SFMoMA](https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/tauba-auerbach-s-v-z/) in 2022, which featured [shadow weaving](https://taubaauerbach.com/view.php?id=469) as a technique.

Shadow Weaving

Artist, Computer Programmer

What Makes It Through

On traceries, branching light, and the imprints and impressions left by shadows.

Show with [Betsy Kenyon](https://www.betsykenyon.com/).

Inspect Elements: A Reading with The HTML Review

Radiant Fibers

SFPC Student Showcase

Das Online-Literaturmagazin The HTML Review

Recapturing early-internet whimsy with HTML

Poets in the Machine

The Online Publications Bridging Poetry and Code

SFPC Fall 2019 Student Showcase

Editorial art and design for "Century-Scale Storage" by Maxwell Neely-Cohen, collaboration with [Alex Miller](https://read.cv/alexmiller).

Century-Scale Storage

An annual journal of literature made to exist on the web.

The HTML Review

A design and simulation tool for weaving. Made in collaboration with [Hannah Twigg-Smith](https://github.com/branchwelder).

Weavescape

Two procedurally generated animations, "Threshold" and "In Tangent."

Field of Flowers

Index and visualization of words that share the same combination of key presses in T9.

T9 Textonyms

Based on the [card game designed by Marsha Falco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(card_game)).

A web tool made to experiment with color and weave structure.

Selected work: [BCG Idea Explorer](https://bcghendersoninstitute.com/ideaexplorer/), [Atlantic Council Freedom and Prosperity Indexes](https://freedom-and-prosperity-indexes.atlanticcouncil.org/), [Sage Bionetworks](https://sagebionetworks.org/), [Morningstar Sustainable Investment Summit installation](https://www.schemadesign.com/work/morningstar-sustainable-investing-summit-2023), [Mapping Collective Wellbeing](https://mappingcollectivewellbeing.org)

Shelby Wilson

2025

2021