William Mapan

William Mapan is a French artist, born in 1988, who works in Paris. Following studies in informatics and visual arts, he worked professionally in motion design and software development. This period provided a technical foundation for his current work, as he began programming custom tools to suit his visual needs. He later consolidated these skills within a dedicated artistic practice that unites his interests in coding and visual expression.

Mapan creates generative art by writing code that produces complex visual compositions. He works primarily with programming languages such as JavaScript to build his own systems and tools. The process involves defining parameters that allow for controlled yet unpredictable outcomes, an approach he relates to the act of painting. His code is specifically written to simulate the material qualities of the physical world, translating the appearance of pigment, paper texture and light into a digital format. The `Dragons` series, for example, uses an algorithm to generate distinct figures from a grid of lines, each intended to appear as if it were crafted on paper.

The works explore the expressive potential of algorithmic systems. Across different series, Mapan has investigated themes of connection and isolation, and the creation of imaginary, textured landscapes. His compositions create a dialogue between the logic of code and the sensibility of painting. The outputs from the `Dragons` series, which the artist suggests have their own personalities, invite the viewer to consider the capacity for character and uniqueness within a rule based generative process. His work has been presented in institutional contexts, including Art Basel, and is held in public collections.