Bouncing Bunnies
Bouncing Bunnies is a generative artwork that explores the interplay between order, chaos, and consequence within a closed system.
The piece begins with a single, pristine white form, a lone bunny, contained within the stark, geometric confines of a rotating ring. This ring is incomplete, featuring a small gap that represents both a promise of freedom and a source of peril. The bunny’s movement is erratic, its leaps governed by random chance, creating a constant tension between containment and escape.
When a bunny inevitably falls through the gap, the system's core rule is triggered: for each one lost, two more are born in a vibrant, unpredictable splash of color. This simple mechanic initiates a cascade of exponential growth. The serene initial state quickly evolves into a frenetic, joyful explosion of bouncing forms, each new generation adding to the visual complexity and chaotic energy of the piece.
The system's growth is not infinite. Upon reaching a critical mass of one thousand bunnies, the artwork enters its second phase: a period of exodus. Creation ceases, and the population can only dwindle as the bunnies, one by one, find their way out through the same narrow, rotating gap.
Bouncing Bunnies is a dynamic meditation on cycles of growth and decay, the consequences of small actions, and the elegant complexity that can rise from a simple rule set. See also The Ephemeral Bloom.
