I am a computational artist and I explore the relationship between fine art and computing. This exploration began as a series of drawing experiments in 2009 to reduce the role of the artist in the creation of art by composing rules to make work. I broke drawing down into “components”, such as material, time, and movement and I reconstructed these components to make drawings. I did not realise it at the time, but I was making code for drawing and creating algorithms from this code to determine my actions. In so doing I was programming myself.

My intention was to “erase the artist” but my efforts were always futile because I continued to find myself in the inconsistencies, the mistakes, and the unexpected. I was not a machine. I am not code. I created DrawBots in 2019 in anticipation that with automation and autonomous interaction between drawing machines, I could finally succeed in my pursuit to erase the artist. In fact, it only emphasised my failure. I perpetually interacted with my robots, I played with them, explored what they could do, I even named them. It was then that I accepted that the artist cannot be erased. I was embedded in the idea and in the code I created.