Bart Nelissen's Datascapes Series Explores Digital Perception Through Geometric Fragmentation

Bart Nelissen creates visual works that examine how humans navigate an overwhelming digital environment. His series Datascapes, shortlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize, transforms cloud photographs into geometric fragments. These small squares are layered and recombined to reveal hidden patterns, mirroring the human effort to find meaning in information chaos. Nelissen investigates both the drive for technological progress and its darker consequences on human experience and industrialized environments. Using a custom digital tool, he selects random fragments from cloud images, balancing control with computational chance to visualize perception processes. The artist questions the objectivity promised by AI and Big Data systems, noting they remain shaped by human biases. Datascapes reflects on how constant information streams can overwhelm rather than clarify understanding. Nelissen's practice has evolved from traditional photography to incorporate digital compositing and video techniques. He now experiments with generative algorithms to explore the interplay between order and randomness in human perception. The Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition featuring his work runs at York Art Gallery until January 25, 2025. The prize offers a £10,000 award and exhibition opportunity for applicants.