Iskra Velitchkova

Iskra Velitchkova plays reverse engineer to mother nature in a series of generative prints.

Iskra has a unique take on the relationship between humans and machines. She asks whether, by amplifying the immaterial parts of ourselves, machines can make us more human than ever.

This question runs in parallel to the seemingly-organic forms found throughout her practice. The apparition of such forms in generative outputs underscores our inevitable presence in the machines we make. When they do emerge, Iskra “refines, provokes and re-invents” them to better understand the resemblance – echoing nature’s happy accidents within her own coded creations in a process she likens to reverse engineering.

EYENESSLESS builds upon another series, Lines and Bones. Ocular, lens-like forms embody the themes of distance and perception that persist in Iskra’s theoretical framework. The artworks look back, echoing her reading of generative art as a tool for introspection, or a second self.

Close collaboration with printmakers at Make-Ready in London, using cutting edge printing technology, introduced another layer of interface between human and technology to the project – informing the code itself and placing unexpected emphases within its outputs.