Islands of Ash

CONCEPT

Islands of Ash is a generative digital artwork created for multi-screen projection, inspired by painter Makoto Aida. It is a critique of the commidification of the female body through a dynamic, algorithmic landscape. A literal living terrain built from human forms.

Through looping, evolving motion and an intentionally bright, low-poly aesthetic, the piece contrasts visual playfulness with underlying themes of mortality, consumption, and collective identity. Viewers are invited into an immersive environment where movement, repetition, and scale transform the human figure into both landscape and commentary.

IDEATION

The project began with an exploration of how bodies can become material within generative systems. Initially conceived as an interactive “fish pedicure” simulation, the concept evolved into a digital reimagining of Aida’s landscapes, seeking to animate the stillness of his paintings.

Aida is a contemporary, mixed media artist who uses grotesque and violent imagery to explore and critique Japanese and globalised society, especially its over-sexualisation. Two of Aida’s most famous works are the companion paintings ‘Ash Color Mountains’ (2009) and ‘Blender’ (2001). ‘Ash Color Mountains’, standing at three metres tall, depicts literal mountains of thousands of dead, grey suited businessmen painted in pain staking detail. 'Blender' is a 290cm tall painting depicts a large blender slowly turning thousands of (again, painstakingly detailed) young, naked girls into a bloody milkshake. Both paintings, especially when seen together, are a monumental critique of the commodification of the human body. For men, discarded into a junk heap when they’ve outlived their workability. For women, their bodies are violently consumed, the blender being a metaphor for the easy accessibility of sexually violent pornography.

I wanted to try and recreate the success of ‘Ash Color Mountains’ and ‘Blender’, by using multiple bodies to create landscapes. Extending it further by incorporating movement. Ideally, I wanted to create a space where users could sit an watch a dramatic landscape rolling past, being totally absorbed by rhythmic movement that they could either take at face value or cause them to think a little bit further into what it means to use bodies as material.

The work also drew inspiration from Japanese animation, particularly Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, where natural and spiritual forces intertwine. These references informed the inclusion of a “dragon spirit” traversing the projection space, linking the twin islands and imbuing the scene with a mythic, cyclical rhythm.

The above images are from Makoto Aida’s ‘Ash Color Mountains’ (2009-11) Acrylic on canvas, 300 x 700cm. Sourced from: Taguchi Art Collection, accessed September 15, 2023. https://taguchiartcollection.jp/en/works/tac115/

Detail from Makoto Aida’s ‘Ash Color Mountains’ (2009-11) Acrylic on canvas, 300 x 700cm. Sourced from: “Makoto Aida: Walking The Line Of Explicitness”, Sabukaru, accessed September 15, 2023. https://sabukaru.online/articles/makoto-aida-walking-the-line-of-explicitness

Detail from Makoto Aida’s ‘Blender’ (2001) Acrylic on canvas, 290 x 210.5 cm Sourced from: “Monuments to Misanthropy”, Tracy Jones, Tokyo Art Beat, December 24, 2012. https:// www.tokyoartbeat.com/en/articles/-/monuments-to-misanthropy

Visual inspirations for my flying dragon. The top image is the forest spirit from Princess Mononoke. The bottom two images are the two dragons from Spirited away. Images sourced from: Princess Mononoke, Studio Ghibli, February 8, 2001, on Netflix. Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli, July 20, 2001, on Netflix.

WORKFLOW

The project was developed using TouchDesigner, with 3D assets modelled and rigged in Blender and posed via Mixamo. I began by building low-poly islands through tutorials by Elekktronaut, integrating instanced human models as both terrain and tree forms. Procedural animation techniques, including L-systems, CHOP-based motion, and particle effects, created a flowing, morphing landscape. A looping lo-fi soundtrack composed in Reaper underscored the rhythmic visual motion. Projection testing guided refinements to lighting, camera position, and the movement of the “dragon” form linking the two screens. The final work balanced aesthetic coherence with thematic complexity — a generative ecosystem where code, movement, and metaphor converge.