eepmon.com

Artists: Eva + Franco Mattes
+ 0100101110101101.org

Ottawa-based graphic artist Eric Chan marries technology to groovy colourscapes that bring the world of the yellow submarine into the here-and-now. Chan uses generative programs of his own creation to output compositions that are chock full of movement, which is no surprise since music serves as inspiration. Chan manages to combine elements of street art, Japanese prints and graphic design to create eye candy that translates quite well into function – if his designs for a Harvey Nics’ line of belts is anything to go by!

Artist: Eric Chan
+ eepmon.com

Yeoh Guan Hong, a co-founder of the Hyperthesis Visual Lab in New Zealand, has produced a gloriously zen collection of large format digital photographs currently on exhibition in Prague. The subject of this series is the simplicity and balance in forms to be found in nature. The artist focuses on the purity of nature and how this essence can lead us to reflection and the quest for experiences that mirror this equilibrium.

Artist: Yeoh Guan Hong
+ hyperthesis.com

Author of the Rope Swing Manifesto and the Field Guide, a guide to television antennas in North America, Derek Stroup produces art work that does not fail to delight. Who can resist the Candy project, a series of digital prints of easily recognizable candy bars trying to be anonymous? We used all available willpower to bypass the lures of the Chips project, but paid more attention to the Money project, which shows the one dollar bill in plain clothes and the Graffiti Abatement, a series of oil paintings based on covered up graffiti.

Artist: Derek Stroup
+ derekstroup.com

The beauty of digital manipulation is that there are so many directions from which to choose. Carol Cooper creates ‘paintographs’, painted photographs that make use of image editing and paint emulating software. Cooper’s digital paintings and fractal compositions are colourful pieces of work that look like they afforded the artist much enjoyment in their creation. Saltwater Taffy is a softly spun abstract while Poofs look more like pop art sea sponges, and Blue Conversation with Charming Air is a more traditional-looking digital abstract.

Artist: Carol Cooper
+ compasswebworks.com

The oeuvre of Belgian artist Nick Ervinck ranges from digital images of sculptural installations to large-scale 3D interpretations of similar ideas. Ervinck combines the ideas of sculpture, architecture and space to create works in more than one reality. The digital world represents another arena for this artist to use as a platform for his sculptural ideas in tandem with careful calculations. In either case, gravity is always a factor, whether virtual or real.

Artist: Nick Ervinck
+ ideadrom.net

“I told my classmates that I was a Greater Bird of Paradise, but really I’m a Lesser Bird of Paradise. I just wanted them to like me, and it’s not like anyone can tell the difference anyway.” This is the text at the bottom of a drawing by Jenny Kendler, an artist whose work shows her concerns with the state of our relationship with the natural world. Kendler works in a variety of media, but the themes that run throughout her pieces are stories of nature and culture and art’s role in connecting the two. It all boils down to our place in the environment and Kendler shows her points of view through digital imaging, drawing, painting, video and installation art that combines some of her styles.

Artist: Jenny Kendler
+ jennykendler

Spaceblooms? Why, “autonomous, self-propelling and self-propagating cosmic plants”, of course. Spaceblooms are a combination of art and science, a series of computer-generated sci-fi flora that can be found both on their own website (which gives a detailed look at their universe and history) and in book form. Be prepared to abandon any contemporary paradigms, for these spaceblooms will take you far into the future. Spaceblooms are cultivated by Vancouver artist Martin Naroznik.

Artist: Martin Naroznik
+ spacebloom.net

Maxalot’s ever-growing graphic empire presents a 16 metre long banner of digital images called Universal Everything for Everyone Forever at the Maxalot Gallery in Barcelona. The graphic designer behind Universal Everything is Max Pyke, who put together eight exciting artworks to form the banner, which will be added to throughout 2006. The eight current works are available as limited edition prints, so not everyone will need the type of space required to house the banner.

Artist: Max Pyke
+ maxalot.com

Braingirl is the ‘mutant-cute girl’ heroine of the eponymous web cartoon by Marina Zurkow. The animated series comprises ten episodes that explore the world of Braingirl and her pal Bagboy covering a variety of topics that range from ponies to circles to finding a long lost mother. The Macromedia Flash animation is simple, based on clip art and instruction manuals – short, but not altogether sweet episodes that have to be seen to be believed. Braingirl started out as an icon destined for street art, but evolved into a sort of everygirl - a naked, eyeless character who wears her brain on the outside. To find out what happens when you drink the wrong love potion or the dangers involved in seeking out a puppy, it’s high time you met Braingirl.

Artist: Marina Zurkow
+ o-matic.com