MarS Collaborative is a group established to produce works exploring the digital performance space at the nexus of information technology and art. It was formed in 2017 to combine the skills of colleagues Margot Tidey – visual artist, Stephen Kelly – information technology manager and Cody Robb – cultural theorist and writer. We explore abstract art and respond to and reflect modern culture and communication. Concepts of seriality, repetition and chance underpin our current work.
A glimpse into our new series called Subdivision.
Our newest series is titled Subdivision. We investigate the geometric division of the canvas and the influence and juxtaposition of line and colour. We tighten control on the composition of our abstract works by introducing control through topology. Some works in progress are below.
Subdivision – work in progress
Subdivision – work in progress
Subdivision – work in progress
Icons of Australian Sport Series
A digital interactive and print based series developed from photographic portraits celebrating athletic endeavour, exploring the media, sport and contemporary culture.
Susie O’Neill AM , Icon of Australian Sport, 2018
Edition of 2
C-Type photographic print
76 x 101 cm
Brisbane resident, Olympic champion, sporting icon, ambassador, charity fundraiser, and media personality. Enlarged colourful pixels comprising O’Neill’s portrait simulate a digitally transmitted image. This conveys the power of news media and telecommunication technology to create celebrities including Madame Butterfly. Pressures of powerful social media exchange, public reverence and scrutiny are contemplated.
Detail not to scale
Landscapes of Luck Series
Landscapes of Luck are a series of imaginary landscapes painted using an interactive computer model based on chance. The roll of a virtual die dictates mark making instructions to evolve each landscape. Instructions are iteratively modified according to artistic preference. Technology and chance allow us to extend the bounds of our creativity to discover, refine and delight in unimagined landscapes. The Landscapes of Luck series is influenced by the group members professional backgrounds in geographical sciences and information technology.
Landscape of Luck X, C-Type photographic print, 41 x 59cm
Landscape of Luck III, C-Type photographic print, 59 x 41cm
Landscape of Luck VII, C-Type photographic print, 40 x 28cm
Constructive Series
Reconstruction After Balson 1947, 2018
‘Reconstruction after Balson’ is an act of creating infinite re-constructions of Australian modernist painter Ralph Balson’s, ‘Constructive Painting’ (1947), currently held by the Queensland Art Gallery.
The use of digital technology as the medium highlights the constructive nature of the work and allows infinite variations of Balson’s composition to be explored.
The work experiments with effects of variations in colour and opacity. Overlapping geometries greatly heighten the illusion of depth in the work.
Below is a video of 5 re-constructions in the infinite series. Designed to be viewed in real time on a computer monitor, each reconstruction is unique, and are not pre-made animations.
The fact that the work causes rise to discussion of various contentious issues about art is not lost on the artists.
15, 031 art works were created over the first exhibition period and were available for sale. Four are below.
Installation view of ‘Reconstruction After Balson, 1947’, 2018.
Video of ‘Reconstruction after Balson, 1947’, 2018
Reconstruction after Audette’s Spatial Relations, 2018
This is the first work in the series re-imagining Australian artist Yvonne Audette’s abstract painting, Spatial Relations, 1947.
Other constructive works
White on Black on White on Black, 2018. Giclee print 75 x 75 cm
The Soirée, 2019. C-Type photographic print 51 x 38 cm
Colourscape 7, Constructive Series, 2018. C-Type photographic print 15cm x 33cm
Section from Untitled (Abstract Colours 5), Constructive Series, 2017
Blue 2, Constructive Series, 2017
Colourscape 10, Constructive Series, 2018
Colour Weaving 3, Constructive Series, 2018
Other Works
Journey Through Red, 2018
Explorations of digital colour space and colour perception.
This 1 minute long video depicts one unique venture on the journey. Records of the journey akin to a travel diary are captured.
Journey Through Red, 2018
Journey Through Red: Records I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII, 2018
Margot Tidey 