Elizabeth Knowles

Natural patterns inspire my work. Some are the biological patterns on the cellular level of organisms. Others are the geological patterns of the earth's natural landscapes. As patterns replicate on differing scales, my work derives from a fascination with the fractal aspect of life forms.  An irregular or fragmented configuration can be repeated over and over again with each part containing the same structure as the whole. Similar patterns that recur progressively in smaller scales describe seemingly random phenomena such as crystal growth or galaxy formation. The unfolding of life is forever present. Patterns expand back into each and into themselves.  In addition, fractal structures reveal a frozen moment in time depicting the transition between order and chaos or life and death. Through site-specific installation and sculpture, I explore how dynamic patterns connect landscapes and life forms, physiology and physics, death and detritus, growth and form.

Starting with the most simple and building to the more complex, my creative process becomes a recreation of the interaction of different levels of life.  I begin with one small component and then mechanically connect one fundamental element with another and another and another until a more intricate whole is formed.  This process echoes the progression of one cell grouping together with other cells to develop into a more elaborate organism.

Fractal structures define life's patterns both figuratively and metaphorically. Whether the meandering journey of sperm to egg, a chain of DNA, the lines on the palm of a hand, or the more symbolic branches of a family tree or the recursive structures of language and thought, our lives can be interpreted as series of non-linear transformations of organic structures unfolding in space. Ranging from the atomistic to larger organizational systems, the study of patterns reveals the complex interface between the various levels of life and the mysterious connection between them.