Lux Absio Bervatum

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Ha3Mogom (a macrostructure made of Hex Translator strings)

Over a year ago I finished a "Hex Translator" project I was working on for a while. I didn't want to post it here until I'd gotten prints to all the contributors. And the last one took me a while, but now that's done and I can share it here! The final print is 30 inches wide and 20 inches tall.

Here's a copy-paste of the "overview" text from the piece:

Ha3Mogom Macrostructure (HTb20210227A)

The Hex Translator is a deterministic algorithm that transforms character strings into patterns of hexagons with various qualities. The version used here, Hex Translator build 20210227A, can output patterns with three types of hexagons (solid, hollow, broken), six icons, and 1,216 colors. Colors are generated from, and cycle through, a 16-color palette.

The large, multicolored object at right is a macrostructure composed of eight different string patterns produced by the Hex Translator. Its label (Ha3Mogom) comes from shorthand for each string's source (Hill, Austin, 3, MIT, Older, Get, Own, Meteorology). In total, the macrostructure represents 4,935 characters.

Low-ish res raster render (~150 dpi):


And here's a photo of one of the framed prints:


I find it weirdly satisfying to look at this clumpy spatter of hexagons knowing that it's expressing all the input strings. It's neat to see that information with new patterns revealed all at once through a different lens.