biography CV Vicky Isley & Paul Smith Research Fellows in Computer Animation & Computer Art NCCA, Bournemouth University t: +44 (0) 1202 966699 e: info at boredomresearch dot net boredomresearch is represented by [DAM] Berlin F.wish "The whole interface is beautiful and creates a new kind of experience for the web." Kathryn Hughes, Folly folly online forum "F.wish has the same warm & friendly characteristics of all of Boredomresearch's work" Aaron Steed, furtherfield randomSeed online "The documentation on this page is excellent, explaining the concept and technicalities behind the work, as well as elucidating on the general subjects of Cellular Automata, Random seeds and Turing Machines." dataisnature.com theatre of restless automata "The pieces on show are really beautiful, particularly the 4 'biome systems', a series of wall mounted computers and screens, portals into a universe of highly complex digital automata that swarm and evolve, as they swim in and out of view. The simplicity of the work contrasts with the compexity of these alluring creatures, pulsing with colour and emitting a glissando of electronic noises." Neil Jenkins, Dirge OBG001 "the time signature of emergence in the Bug Garden brings us precisely to a temporal sublime, and the possibility of apprehending the visual object not according to the usual categories of perspective, point of view, or spatialized fixity, but instead the sublimity that comes from an endless process..." Meredith Hoy, Generator X paper SIGGRAPH 2005 "Ornamental Bug Garden 001 is another impressive screen based work. It is a hanging digital self-contained systems built by boredomresearch in 2004. The garden acts as a closed ecosystem where all the elements interact with each other and the environment according to specific rules." Caitlin Winner, Wellesley College USA Transmediale.05 "Even if you understand nothing about the Ornamental Bug Garden piece (and I'm not sure I understand the work at 100%), its sheer beauty is such that you'd want to take the installation and install it in your bedroom to gaze at it during hours." www.we-make-money-not-art.com OBG001 "occasionally we find a project that’s simply beautiful. Ornamental Bug Garden is such a project; graceful and elegant..." VIDA 7.0		biography Collaborating as boredomresearch, Southampton based Vicky Isley and Paul Smith have gained an international reputation for interrogating the creative role of computing. Their enthusiasm for scientific modeling techniques and fascination with natural systems inspires them to produce beautifully crafted software art that presents an exciting alternative to our technologically fraught lives. Currently they are both Research Fellows in Computer Animation & Computer Art at the National Centre of Computer Animation, Bournemouth University UK. boredomresearch aim to create engaging digital artworks, developing themes and crossing boundaries between science, art and technology. They have produced a number of interactive sound applications, public artworks, online projects and computational soundscapes which have been shown both nationally and internationally at events such as SIGGRAPH08 Los Angeles (2008), Computational Aesthetics Eurographics Workshop Banff Alberta (2007), ACE Hollywood (2006), Third Iteration Melbourne (2005), Transmediale.05 Berlin (2005), FILE04 Brazil (2004), NOW Nottingham (2004), Data:base Dublin (2003), Electrohype Sweden (2002), Garage Germany (2002) and within online exhibitions such as ComputerFineArts.com, Vida 7.0, Art & Artificial Life International Competition, soundtoys.net, mobilegaze.com and Dots & Line, BBC online exhibition. In their recent online works they have explored how users can engage and affect a web-based ecology, changing quantities and properties for others. Interested in building environments facilitating dynamic audience engagement. Working with net communities they have further explored concepts of ecology where users engaging with the work are able to influence its direction. This model is closely linked with notions of positive and negative feedback used in artificial intelligence where the work’s community of users have a collective intelligence like that of an ants nest. boredomresearch is interested in developing projects that explore the aesthetic possibilities of dispersed audience participation. boredomresearch have recently produced a series of works for a national touring solo exhibition theatre of restless automata, these systems are inspired by in-depth research into artificial-life and digital biology playing on our receptivity for life like phenomena. By building intricately detailed systems that exhibit the aesthetics of life the works challenge our ability to critically discriminate between the product of an abstract mechanism and the sublime quality of life. back to top CV Vicky Isley & Paul Smith Research Fellows in Computer Animation/Computer Art (2005-ongoing) Bournemouth University, UK Solo Exhibitions 2007 Tumbling Dream Chambers [DAM] Berlin (July-August 2007) 2005-06 Theatre of restless automata national touring exhibition Peterborough Digital Arts (March 2006) New Greenham Arts, Newbury (Nov 2005) HTTP, Islington, London (Sept-Oct 2005) Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth (April-June 2005) 2003 Tiny Beasts of Burden Open Hand Open Space, Reading 2001 Nervous Seldown Gallery, Poole Arts Centre Group Exhibitions 2008 SALON Exhibition The Study Gallery, Poole UK (Nov 2008) SIGGRAPH08 Slow Art Gallery Exhibition, Los Angeles USA (11th -15th August 2008) Art.ficial Emotion 4.0 – Emergence! Instituto Itaú Cultural, São Paulo Brazil (July – Sept 2008) CAe2008: Computational Aesthetics Exhibition Lisbon, Portugal (18th -20th June 2008) Holy Fire – The Art of the Digital Age iMAL Center for Digital Cultures and Technology, Brussels, Belgium (April 2008) Digital Media Intervention Headquarters former Valencia University, Spain (April – May 2008) Follyplay Event Burnley Youth Theatre, Lancaster (23rd Feb 2008) NETworking Haifa Museum of Art, Israel (Nov 07 –Feb 2008) 2007 Velocity Digital Art Festival Folly Lancaster (Oct – Nov 2007 Digiville Lighthouse, Brighton (1st Sept 2007) CAe2007: Computational Aesthetics Conference & Exhibition Banff Centre of Arts, Alberta Canada (20 - 22 June 2007) Digital Aesthetics 2 Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston (March-June 2007) Enter Festival, Unknown Territories Cambridge (25-29 April 2007) Web Biennial 2007 Web Based International Contemporary Art Exhibition (Feb-Dec 2007) 2006 Natural Habitats Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo Amsterdam (Nov-Dec 2006) TAGGED Space Media Arts, London (Oct 2006) SIGGRAPH06 Intersections Art Gallery Exhibition, Boston USA (July-Aug 2006) Unnatural Selection Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery's, open exhibition (July-Sept 2006) ACE 2006 Leonardo exhibition, Hollywood LA (June 2006) GEEKFEST Branksome Chine Beach Hut, Dorset (June 2006) 2005 SIGGRAPH05 Los Angeles International New Media Festival (August 2005) Artsway Group Exhibition New Forest Pavilion, Venice (June 2005) Hands Free Series Dorchester Arts Centre (May 2005) Dots & Lines BBC Online Sound Exhibition (May 2005) Transmediale.05 international media arts festival, Berlin, Germany (Feb 2005) 2003-2004 FILE04 International digital festival, Brazil Theory of Catastrophe SCAN launch, Southampton Data:Base New Media Event, Dublin Aquanox All Change, Islington, London Canal project 2001-02 WinterWonderland Lighthouse, Poole Electrohype Malmo, Sweden Power to the People Contemporary Art Forum, Kitchener Exhibition, Canada Garage Festival for art, Music and Film, Stralsund, Germany SoftForm Propeller Gallery, Toronto, Canada (hiveprojects.com/softform) Matter & Memory Montreal, Canada (mobilegaze.com/m+m) SoundToys Convergence exhibition, ICA, London (soundtoys.net) Possible not Probable G39, Cardiff minus20 Gasworks Gallery, London Lambda Rhythm Factory, Whitechapel, London Collections Ornamental Bug Garden 001 (edition 1 of 3) British Council Collection Ornamental Bug Garden 001 (edition 2 of 3) Private Collection Frankfurt, Germany Biome (edition 1 of 6) Private Collection Frankfurt, Germany Wish (edition 2) ComputerFineArts.com Art Fairs 2007 Korea International Art Fair Seoul (9 – 13 May 2007) Tease Art Fair Cologne (19 – 22 April 2007) Commissions/Residencies 2001-07 Digi-club Folly Lancaster Commission online forum environment for people aged between 12-16 years www.digi.org.uk (March 2007). Enter_ Unknown Territories International Festival Cambridge commission to develop second instance of Forest of Imagined Beginnings for festival. www.boredomresearch.net/enterforest (April 2007). Folly Website Commission a new website forum where users can submit a wish to an online wishing tree www.folly.co.uk/wish (October 2006) National Waterfront Museum, Swansea , Wales temporary website commission www.sky-rail.net RandomSeed launched a networked version of a computational system from ‘Theatre of restless automata’ (October 2005) Peterborough Digital Arts residency, researching the structures & markations on butterfly & moth wings to develop a new computational work (Sept 2005) NOW Festival, Nottingham Digital Web Commission. Exhibiting an interactive website for the NOW 2004 festival (www.vacant-isle.net) Navvygate New Media Residency, Artsway Digital dance residency, Lighthouse, Poole Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service CD-ROM commission Slomo, Media & Visual Arts Thematic Residency, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada Media & Visual Arts Self-directed Creative Residency, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada Labculture residency, PVA MediaLab, Bridport YOTA, Caterham Barracks, Community Trust Commission Artsway New Media Commission Volcano Digital Commission, Poole Art Centre Research Grants/ Awards MetroCentre Gateshead shortlisted for a permanent public art commission for Yellow Quadrant Mall Arts Foundation Fellowship, New Media Award Shortlist Transmediale.05, Berlin honorary mention award for ‘Ornamental Bug Garden 001’ Southampton Institute, Capability Fund for development of ‘micro-biome’ CD publication VIDA 7.0, International A-Life Electronic Arts Competition, Madrid honorary mention award for ‘Ornamental Bug Garden 001’ Southampton Institute Capability Fund for CAA Presentation, Atlanta Arts Council of England, Individuals Art & Development Grant to develop systems for ‘theatre of restless automata’ solo exhibition Arts Council of England international artists fellowships - Media & Visual Arts Self directed Creative Residency; Slomo, Media & Visual Arts Thematic Residency, The Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada Teaching & examining BA Multimedia, Solent University, Southampton (1998 – 2007) Activities include contributing to the development of new courses within the Design Faculty, managing units and leading practical and tutorial base lectures for third years. BA Digital Arts, University of East London (2006) We run the 'art of code' 12 week unit for first year students.This unit is an introduction to computer programming within the context of image and interaction. Selection of boredomresearchs’ innovative workshops 2002-05 An Idiots Guide to: The Aesthetics of Computational Mechanism a creative workshop for artists learning how to execute simple cellular automata and L-system rules on paper – Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth. Interventions residency, Folly, Lancaster – paper based object orientated programming workshop with artists SmudgeFlux, Spike Island, Bristol – worked with teachers without any computer experience they produced their own 8bit game like animations Primary school children Object orientated programming workshop; paper based programming workshop where artists & curators wrote their own drawing applications and sound software – Artsway, Sway Selection of boredomresearchs’ presentations & seminars 2001-07 CAe2007: Computational Aesthetics Conference presentation on 'Theatre of Restless Automata' & other preparatory works June 2007 BLOC seminar 'We Can Work It Out' presentation on collaborative practice and a panel discussion January 2007 Norwich Animation Festival boredomresearch presented on a panel discussion on Generative Art October 2006 HCI2006 Conference, Queen Mary Uni, London presentation of 'realsnailmail' R&D Sept 2006 SPARK06 Wintec’s Creative Industries Research Centre (CIRC) in Hamilton, New Zealand August 2006  BLIP forum presentation in Brighton July 06 The poetics of digital space & time presentation at Third Iteration, Melbourne Austraila & SIGGRAPH 2005, Los Angeles USA Interrogating Interfaces panel discussion & presentation, The College of Arts Association Annual Conference, Georgia, Atlanta USA Transigence Soundtoys Presentation, Watershed Media Centre Pixel Raiders2 invited speakers, Sheffield Hallam University MA Interaction Design visiting lecturers Royal College of Art, London Digital 02 Conference presenters, Helsinki People vs Programming Forum presenters, Artsway, Hants MA Media Arts visiting lecturers Coventry University BA Hons Fine Art & Media visiting lecturers Southampton Institute Software as art, art as software presenters Malmo, Sweden Minus20 Panel Discussion participants Gasworks, London The Digital Media Management Conference presenters The Banff New Media Institute, Canada Selected Publications Book contributions freefall Arts Council England international artists fellowships 2001-2003 Arts Council England 2004 ISBN: 0728709872 New Media Art: Practice and Context in the UK 1994-2004 Arts Council England 2004 ISBN: 0948797886 Review articles Snail Mail Gets Literal TIME Magazine USA Issue Vol. 172 No 5, 4th Aug 2008 & Europe Issue Vol.172 No 6, 11th Aug 2008 The Wired Campus: Real Snail Mail The Chronicle of Higher Education, 26th June 2008 Real Snail Mail Slashdot, 24th June 2008 Snail mail, brought to you by real snails The Inquirer, 20th June 2008 Real Snail Mail turns email into slower email Neural.it, 20th June 2008 Snail (And We Do Mean Snail) Mail Discovery News: Etherized Blog, 18th June 2008 Real Snail Mail New Scientist Technology Blog, 18th June 2008 ‘Snail mail’ blazes slow e-trail BBC News, 17th June 2008 NETworking Net Art from the Computer Fine Art Collection Ilana Tenenbaum, & Christiane Paul, Haifa Museum of Art, 2007, p.20 Eternity’s Sun Rise Paul Brown Tumbling Dream Chambers Exhibition Catalogue essay, [DAM] Berlin, July 2007 RealSnailMail Postal Technology International magazine, April 2007 Faustian Bargains and Pineapple Shampoo, Merijn Oudenampsed & Jakob Proyer, Metamute.org/Mute, January 2007 The Spychip Under Your Skin:RFID and the Tagged Exhibition Armin Medosch, October 2006 Slow Down, You’re Moving Too Fast RFID Journal article by Beth Bacheldor, 2006 When Art is Nature, Kelly Atkinson, Amsterdam Weekly, Vol 3, Issue 43, 2-8 Nov 2006, p.6 RealSnailMail with RFID Chipped Snails Technovelgy.com, October 2006 RFID and RealSnailMail RFID Weblog, October 2006 Regional Hybrids Hold Sway Fabienne Nicholas, Realtime Arts Magazine, issue 69, Oct-Nov 2005, p.24 Theatre of Restless Automata review on boredomresearchs' solo exhibition at Peterborough Digital Arts in furtherfield.org website by Rob Myers, 2006 Art, Autonomy & Automata web exclusive review on boredomresearchs' solo exhibition in metamute.com by Finn Smith, 2005 PAGE review on boredomresearch in the German magazine, May 2005 Post Cybernetic Serendipity, AN review by Dion Ellis, May 2003 possessed ok? .net publication, issue 85, June 2001 Club Circuits Public Art Journal, Volume 1, No 4, Oct 2000 by Ben Seymour The Frame: What is Art in the Third Millennium? Meridian Broadcasting Ltd Radio Interviews The Bob Rivers Show Seattle USA interview on RealSnailMail on 102.5 KZOK, 19th August 2008 BBC WorldServices Radio interview on RealSnailMail 7th August 2008 6PR Perth Radio Station interview on RealSnailMail with Graham Mabury on Nightline Show, 16th July 2008 The Bryant Park Project, NPR News NY interview on RealSnailMail 23rd June 2008 TV Broadcasts RealSnailMail BBC Newsround Interview 23rd July 2008, 5.00-5.15pm BBC Click: Harnessing the power of ‘clouds’ broadcasted on BBC News 24 on 21st June, 22nd June & 23rd June 2008 Click on Meridian TV feature, Latest News Bulletins 23rd June 2008 (evening) Top UK school for animation, British Satellite News feature online, March 2007 (www.bsn.org.uk) Other distributed materials (CD-Rom/online) micro-biome CD publication to accompany ‘theatre of restless automata’ solo exhibition 2005-06 ISBN: 095502580X Cybersonica International festival of music, sound & technology, DJ Magazine, October Issue 2004 Pixelraiders2 CD-rom Sheffield Hallam University, April 2004 ISBN: 1843870606 Matter & Memory online interview on Possessed 2001 (www.mobilegaze.com) Soundtoys online interview on boredomresearch soundworks (www.soundtoys.net) back to top