Hexopa (2022) is a series of audio-visual vignettes resulting from experiments with CMOS-inspired audio synthesis and generative video code using Max/MSP and Jitter.

The sounds were created using one bit synthesis adjacent techniques in Max MSP. Coding inspiration came from DIY analog sound circuits that use Hex Schmitt triggers for sound generation. Examples being the Atari Punk Console, Heterodyne Peyote Space Explorer, and the Cacophonator to name a few. The common creative thread that I am drawn to using these instruments or their digitally coded counterparts is a lack of control and how that shapes interaction with the instruments. Composition or improvisation in the traditional sense becomes curation or an endless attempt to wrangle randomly generated possibilities.

The images were created using Open GL programming techniques in Jitter. Op Art from the 1960s through the 1980s by Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely, and others inspired the visual choices: simple geometric shapes, bright colors, a lack of color, and repetition. Image creation and movement on the screen is directly influenced by stochastically chosen parameters in the audio code and measurements of the direct audio signals. The correlation of code sets provides an evolving connectivity between sounds and images.

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