LONDON.- Tintype is presenting Slime Mould Logic, an exhibition of new work by the British artist David Cheeseman.
Slime mould is a generic name for organisms that superficially resemble fungi. They are able to navigate towards foods or hosts almost as if they have an emergent intelligence. Cheeseman was struck by the fact that although the evolution of slime mould is a sophisticated process, it is also the result of basic behaviour emerging from simple processing systems; a binary intelligence that underpins biology and forms the essential algorithmic process of the computer.
Cheeseman incorporates multifaceted ideas into the processes of making the works and uses a wide range of materials that all have a very specific purpose, yet there is also a simple yes/no randomness in his decision making; this dual impulse underlies the production of the five sculptural installations featured in the show.
The eponymous Slime Mould Logic installation is constructed from ancient bog oak, silver birch, steel, bronze gauze, glass, neodymium magnets and magnetic putty. It is informed by specific links and analogies around the dynamics of slime mould, together with mathematical and aesthetic theories, in particular those of Roger Penrose and Marcel Duchamp. Cheeseman says, They pay homage to Duchamps Comb and Three Standard Stoppages whilst interpolating the mathematical theory and aperiodic tiling of Roger Penrose.
Says gallery director, Teresa Grimes: We are privileged to be showing this extraordinary body of work. The astonishing thing about is Davids practice is the way he approaches complex subjects and infuses them with a delicate magic and surprising beauty.
David Cheeseman (b. 1960) studied painting at Maidstone School of Art and sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Cheeseman primarily works with sculpture, installation and photography and his work often has an interdisciplinary focus. He is particularly interested in the methodologies and materiality of science. Cheeseman was awarded the Gulbenkian Rome Scholarship in Sculpture and The Henry Moore Fellow in Sculpture at Coventry University. Last year he completed a residency at The Lydney Park Estate in association with Matts Gallery London and also presented a Fig.2 at the ICA in collaboration with Ole Hagan and astrophysicist Roberto Trotta.