Gordon Monro — Tree Circle

Tree Circle is an image made by a computer program written by the artist. It explores a simple growth process that creates a tree (in the mathematical sense, i.e. a connected graph with no cycles) growing inside a circle. The growth starts at a point in the centre and takes place in short segments of uniform length, with a probability of branching. A branch will terminate (“die”) if it comes too close to another part of the growth. When it dies it produces a coloured seed and there is some pruning back of neighbouring branches. In the print the growth process has not quite completed; there are still a few “bushy” regions of active growth.

Digital print, 80 x 80 cm. Edition of 8, 2011.