Floating Points

Yann Nguema’s «Floating Points» is a visual and conceptual exploration of the intersections between algorithmic processes and organic forms, a duet between computational precision and aesthetic intuition. Drawing inspiration from Ernst Haeckel’s 19th-century biological illustrations, which sought to uncover the hidden geometries of nature, Nguema reinterprets these forms through generative code, crafting intricate digital organisms that seem to pulse with life. The artwork is a simulation of biological entities but also a meditation on the creative potential of mathematical systems to evoke the natural world. Utilizing advanced rendering techniques – including the Ray Marching method within a bespoke C++ framework – Nguema generates visuals that defy traditional boundaries between science and art, calling into question the origin of form itself. Is it the domain of the natural, or can the artificial replicate and even surpass it in complexity and beauty?
In this regard, «Floating Points» resonates with the principles of generative art, as theorized – among others – by Sol LeWitt, where the artist devises a system or set of rules through which the artwork autonomously evolves. Nguema’s collaboration with Joan Guillon underscores the curatorial theme of Duets, emphasizing co-creation not only between artists but also between human creativity and machine logic. The resulting visuals – often resembling microscopic life or cosmological structures – evoke a sense of the sublime, reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich’s romantic landscapes, where vastness and detail converge to evoke awe and introspection. Through «Floating Points», Nguema invites us to consider whether the patterns that govern life are not only inherent in nature but embedded within the algorithms we design. The work ultimately proposes that art, like life, is born from the interplay of chaos and order; a duet that unfolds endlessly in the space between perception and computation.