Cellular Performance is a real-time visual and sonic exploration of the raw computations of elementary and advanced neural cellular automata. Originally conceptualized by Stanislaw Ulam at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1940s to study crystal growth and the propagation of particles, cellular automata are simple, lattice-based generative systems known for their complex and emergent behavior, oscillating between repetition/chaos and organic/abstract. John von Neumann, another Los Alamos researcher working on the Manhattan Project, utilized cellular automata to investigate self-replicating systems. In the 1950s, Nils Aall Barricelli employed similar lattice-based models to pioneer studies in bionumeric evolution and early artificial life. More recently, continuous neural cellular automata have been able to simulate the processes of organic growth and the generation of organic patterns.

The performance also incorporates techniques of raw image manipulation such as shifting, inverting and weaving of pixels, lines and blocks in homage to the programmable weaving machines (via punch cards) of the Industrial Revolution, such as the Jacquard loom. This double reference–to the origins of digital computing, which enabled the atrocities of the Second World War, and to the mechanisation of labour as part of the Industrial Revolution–creates a dialogue between different significant moments in the deep history of technology.

Spanning over two decades of artistic research, Cellular Performance builds on Ralf Baecker’s exploration of complex systems, emergent behavior, artificial life, and non-conscious cognition. This work is rooted in previous projects, including Rechnender Raum (2007), Interface I (2016), Random Access Memory (2016), Putting the Pieces Back Together Again (2018), and Floating Codes (2022).