drey

drey is a generative artist who describes their practice as “coding creatively”. Their work is developed through procedural systems, using code libraries such as p5js to produce series of related images. The artist's focus is predominantly on landscape, with a recurring interest in the forms and atmosphere of mountainous environments. These works are created and distributed on platforms dedicated to generative art.

The artist’s method involves a collaboration between human direction and computational process. A work often begins with a specific conceptual seed, such as a memory, a literary quotation, or a personal experience of a place. For the series `Alpinism`, for example, the core idea of a mountain landscape is developed by an algorithm that draws mountain ranges in several distinct styles against a variety of backdrops. The underlying code contains rules and variables that generate a spectrum of unique outputs within the established theme, exploring the possibilities of a single artistic system.

The resulting images are interpretations of place rather than direct transcriptions. The artist uses generative techniques to explore remembered or imagined scenes, seeking to reconstruct a feeling or undo what they term the fading of a memory. In series like `White Mountain Winter`, drey draws upon personal history, recalling the dual sensations of cold bleakness and peaceful solace from a childhood spent in a mountain valley. The works examine the natural world through a lens of mythology and personal recollection, creating scenes where a drawn ridge line might meet a sky of impossible colour.