Abstract Digital Drawing by Damian Manning

I am new to art. I do not understand how to use an artist's tools to say what I want to say so I made my own tools from mathematics and computer code. My counsellor suggested I try drawing some pictures; I hadn't drawn anything since I was at primary school and had no idea where to start. Using a ruler and a pair of compasses, I started drawing geometric figures. One idea quickly attracted me: drawing circles in pencil, adding tangent lines in pen, and then deleting the original pencil circles. I liked that you could still see the ghost of the circle, the negative space created by the lines once the circle was erased. The program also speaks to the problems I suffer with communication due to autism. The mathematical objects that are created are beautiful but highly abstract and difficult to describe. The different outputs are multiple attempts to express that beauty in terms that someone else would understand. I run through multiple interpretations until I find one that is correct but I am unable to explain why it is correct as it is always an incomplete interpretation of an abstract idea that I can’t express.

@abstractedshadows

Abstract Digital Drawing by Damian Manning

What continues to motivate you to create your work?

The need to better understand myself. There is a large amount of randomness in my process and what I am drawn to helps me see where my head is at. The whole project grew out of an attempt to improve my mental health and that will always be at the heart of it. Discovering that I am autistic seems to have supercharged the process and my work helps me understand how autism has shaped me.

Who or what influences your practice?

Sol LeWitt’s work has been a great influence. All of my work is produced by a computer program that I write: I design the algorithm, the algorithm creates the pictures.  

How would you describe the mood of your work?

A mirror of my own mood. Optimistically uncomfortable or uncomfortably optimistic.  

What do you feel is the most challenging part of being an artist?

I’m sure it’s less obvious than I think, but I feel that I am working through my health problems in public, and occasionally I can feel exposed. To me, my Instagram feed is a record of the state of my mental health from day to day.

Tell us about something from your creative life that you are particularly proud of.

The first time I was shortlisted for an art prize (https://www.newemergenceart.com/). To see one of my pictures next to beautiful pieces by professional artists helped me believe that my work may have merit.

Abstract Digital Drawing by Damian Manning
Damian Manning