Fractal forms provide a window onto the manner in which objects randomly arrange themselves into recognizable and, at the large-scale, predictable patterns. Whether it be the interior of the body (pulmonary, nervous, digestive systems), or the exterior (size ratio of parts to wholes – digit to finger, finger to hand, hand to forearm, etc.); whether it be culturally produced (growth and distribution of towns and cities, architectural artifacts, frequency of word usage), or a product of nature (stream hierarchies, lightning bolts, earthquake frequency to intensity ratios); and whether it exist at the smallest scale (Brownian motion) or the largest (size to frequency distribution of super galaxies), fractal geometry captures something essential about the way objects formally relate to each other, another name for the course of time. Braid⁴ explores the iterative mechanism by which fractals form and create thereby some of the most complex objects known to humankind. In its unformed state the piece consists of a pile of 81 clear plastic bags each containing one 9’ length of material (such as chain, tubing or rope) and a brief set of instructions describing how to braid the material with that held by others. Participants repeat over four magnitudes this same simple braiding algorithm until they arrive at a braided, braided, braided braid which, being for all intents and purposes, inflexible brings the iteration cycle to a halt. The “quaded” object is then suspended in the gallery, a testament to the entwined relationships which brought it into existence, before it is dismantled to have the process begin anew the next day.
