A Generative Art Collection by Rachel
Networks of Connection
For years, my lens was focused on the quiet, sprawling networks of the natural world. I followed the intricate paths of mycelium and the patient branching of river deltas, finding beauty in systems that grow, connect, and thrive. I was a witness, documenting the elegant logic of the earth.
But what happens when the landscape is concrete? What connects us in an ecosystem where we build boxes for ourselves?
Moving from the country to the city, I traded my camera for code. You can take the girl out of the wild, but not the wild out of the girl. The fundamental questions that drove me to the camera remained the same when experimenting with code. The tools were new, the vision remained true. Instead of capturing existing networks, I wanted to build them myself.
When flying over cities, I was seeing the subways and trails weaving in and out, above and below ground, pockets of people gathered around the platforms all glued to their own phones… these systems are a paradox—rigid structures of steel and concrete that give rise to the most fluid and unpredictable patterns of human life. They are spaces of shared solitude, where strangers are pressed together, worlds apart, all flowing toward different destinations on shared lines. A subway is not the heart of a city, but it is the vein, the connective tissue that lets it live.
Each generative piece in this collection explores these themes. Big cities, small towns. The algorithm treats the canvas as a living system, where skylines emerge from simple rules and subways trace the pulse of an unseen population. The code doesn't just draw a city; it gives birth to one, complete with its own history, rhythm, and logic of connection.
Each artwork is generated from a unique seed derived from your transaction hash. This means your NFT is not just a static image; it is the perpetual algorithm to recreate your specific, unique city at any time. The p5.js script is the paintbrush, and the blockchain provides the eternal prompt.
The final output is governed by a series of probabilistic traits that are determined by the seed. This creates a rich variety of features with provable rarity across the collection. Some traits to look for include:
Born in Vietnam, raised across Costa Rica and the US, I've spent years investigating the systems that make life flourish. Photography taught me to witness these networks; code lets me create them.
This work continues my journey from documenting natural ecosystems to creating digital ones. Cameras and coding aren't opposites—they're parallel tools showing the same logic of emergence, flow, and resilience.
This art is a living system, and its future should be too. Inspired by community-driven platforms, this project uses engagement to determine its final form. Your interest—your signals—will help shape the collection.