abstract urbanism NO°6

ABSTRACT URBANISM is an unpublished series composed of maps generated by a genetic algorithm that, following instructions set out by Ultravioletto, opens the doors to unprecedented interpretations of urban planning.

Like the growth of a crystal that follows seemingly simple, orderly rules, the algorithm created by Ultravioletto scatters seeds across the field; these seeds grow and evolve according to predetermined rules yet develop in an unexpected, singular way.

With the meticulous precision of a scribe, the machine traces lines on a blank sheet of paper. Their direction, length, and position are suggested by the algorithm. It is the presence of the machine itself that reveals the performative nature of Abstract Urbanism; neither the print nor the associated NFT serves as the final product of this artistic endeavour, but rather the process that leads to them.

Once placed on the machine, ready to record the choreographies imagined by the algorithm, the blank sheet bursts with potential—much like Giulio Paolini’s white canvases—becoming a pristine landscape awaiting an external creative act. Watching the machine at work evokes Jackson Pollock’s videos, in which he would circle around a canvas laid on the ground, leaving his mark to the rhythm of jazz music.

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