"As much as I love purely digital work, I also love the appeal of physical objects and the context of a real-world gallery gives me an opportunity to indulge my passion for such things. A physical object makes its presence known in the space resulting in a relationship between you as a viewer and the work."

Created for the Herbert W. Franke Tribute, You, Me and the Machine creates typographic compositions using the underlying code which drives the work, reacting to the physical distance of the viewer to the work itself. The further the viewer is from the work, the more obfuscated and larger the text. As the viewer approaches nearer, the composition becomes clearer and longer parts of the underlying source code are revealed. Through this work, Dawes aims to pay homage to Franke and in particular his concept of the “social communication circle in art” and the circular nature of the work and the artist. You, Me and the Machine takes those ideas whilst also including the viewer of the work to create an interactive feedback loop through a transparent system — both physically and digitally — as a celebration of not just coded systems but systems which interact in real-time with the viewer. The Hebert W. Franke Tribute is curated by Anika Meier. Dawes will donate a percentage of proceeds to art meets science – Foundation Herbert W. Franke.

About Brendan Dawes

Brendan Dawes (B. 1966) is a UK based artist using generative processes involving data, machine learning and algorithms to create interactive installations, electronic objects, online experiences, data visualisations, motion graphics and imagery for screen and print. A Lumen Prize Shortlist Artist and Aesthetica Art Prize alumni, his work is featured in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, has been 3D printed on the International Space Station, and has been recognised by awards bodies including Fast Company Innovation Design, Information is Beautiful and D&AD. Dawes’ work was first exhibited in the GAZELL.iO Project Space, Mayfair, in May 2021 – as part of the group ERC-721 token show .ext. The sold-out series titled The Collectors (2021) consisted of a hybrid digital and ERC-721 token exhibition. Dawes is represented in the UK and Europe by Gazelli Art House.