Contracted and Expanded

A generative network drawing visualizing the rhythmic expansion and contraction of a system through motion, tension, and color.

Tension Series 3: Contracted and Expanded is part of the Tension Series—a set of software-based explorations combining dynamic drawing with network processes to examine self-organizing behavior in complex systems. This third piece focuses on the cyclical expansion and contraction of a network.

The software organizes the network using a physics-based simulation. As nodes and edges are added, the network grows; as nodes are removed, connections break and the network contracts. Throughout this process, nodes exert force on one another, generating tension along the edges.

These tensions are visualized through color:

• High tension produces saturated color
• Low tension appears in darker tones
• Stabilized areas fade to black

The canvas becomes a visual record of the network’s shifting structure—painted by the motion and color transformations of nodes and edges as the system breathes in and out.