Figure 1. World and I - Series Introduction
World and I investigates the relationship between a world and a being through the creation of a single pixel artificial life form. This digital being appears on an empty looking screen, moving and illuminating in shifting colors as it inhabits environments with different structures. Across the series, multiple kinds of worlds are constructed, including multi layered spaces, parallel lines, and actively shifting environments, each offering distinct conditions under which the pixel's existence can be observed. It looks simple, yet it is created as full in its own terms.
The project uses this pixel based life form as a point of inquiry into complexity, scale, and comparative being. By observing its limited field, its movements, and the boundaries of the worlds it occupies, World and I raises questions about how beings relate to the environments they inhabit. Are we, as humans, simply more elaborate versions of this pixel, or do we appear equally simple when imagined from the perspective of more complex or unknown intelligences? How many kinds of worlds might exist, including those we can perceive, those we construct, and those beyond our access? Where does a world end, and where does a being begin? Can one shape the other, or might they be inseparable?
Rather than proposing a single relationship, World and I explores multiple possible orientations between world and being, including parallel, entangled, interdependent, or indistinguishable relations. Through computational minimalism, the project opens a space for considering existence, perception, and the multiplicity of worlds that may surround or exceed a given form of life.
MEET THE PIXEL HERE! → Click This Link To Enter World and I (2010, 2025)
Archival materials are available on GitHub:
World and I on GitHub
Figure 2. World and I — Close-up view transitioning to a zoomed-out perspective
World and I
A Web-Based Artificial Life Inquiry
Introduction
World and I is an ongoing series of web-based artworks initiated in 2010 and revisited in 2025. The project investigates the relationship between a world and a being through the construction of a minimal artificial life form: a single pixel. Rather than representing life visually or narratively, the work stages existence as persistence, movement, and state change within computationally defined environments. This text presents a concise overview of the project’s conceptual, technical, and methodological foundations as they are articulated in the current web-based version.
Project Lineage
The original version of World and I was created in 2010, when browser environments and creative coding frameworks were significantly different from those of today. The 2025 revision does not attempt to reproduce the original conditions exactly, but instead adapts the work to contemporary browsers while preserving its core conceptual structure. This continuity across time positions the project not as a single artwork, but as a series of related worlds, each shaped by the technical and cultural conditions of its moment.
Artificial Life as Framework
World and I draws from Artificial Life research, which defines life not by biological material but by organization, behavior, and emergence. From this perspective, lifelike qualities can arise from minimal rule-based systems. The single pixel in World and I is not a symbol of life but a constructed entity whose existence is defined by its capacity to persist, move, and change state within constraints. The work adopts Artificial Life not as simulation but as an ontological framework for thinking about existence.
World and Being
In World and I, a “world” is a bounded computational space with specific conditions, while the “being” is a pixel whose existence is enacted through movement and illumination. The coordinate system that locates the pixel is not treated as an intrinsic property of the being, but as an observational construct imposed by the viewer. From the perspective of the pixel, orientation, scale, and horizon have no meaning. This asymmetry foregrounds the gap between lived existence and external description.
Computational Minimalism
The project adopts computational minimalism as both a conceptual and technical strategy. Each frame contains only one act of presence: a single pixel appears, moves, and changes color. There is no accumulation of traces, no representation of form, and no memory beyond the immediate previous state. Complexity is not eliminated but deferred, allowing questions of scale, comparison, and emergence to arise from the simplest possible conditions.
Pixel Buffer as Substrate
Rather than drawing shapes or images, the work writes directly to the pixel buffer. Presence is enacted through inscription and erasure at the lowest level of the visual system. This method treats the screen not as a window but as a material surface, where existence is defined by state change. Writing directly to the pixel buffer aligns the technical process with the project’s ontological position: to exist is to alter the state of the world.
Randomness and Determinism
In live execution, the pixel’s movement and color changes are governed by runtime randomness, producing behavior that cannot be repeated. For documentation and archival purposes, deterministic rendering methods may be used to record representative sequences. While these recordings are repeatable, they preserve the perceptual qualities of randomness. The distinction between live stochastic behavior and deterministic documentation is acknowledged as a limitation of representation rather than a flaw in the system.
Naming Without Reference
The code underlying World and I employs a non-descriptive naming system that resists metaphor and explanation. Variable and function names do not describe behavior, represent objects, or narrate processes. Instead, they operate as linguistically open fragments that coexist with the system without stabilizing meaning. This refusal of reference extends the project’s non-anthropocentric position into the level of code itself, treating naming as an ontological gesture rather than a technical annotation.
Entry and Threshold
The work is accessed through an entrance screen that requires an explicit action to enter the world. This threshold establishes a boundary between observation and participation. Once entered, the world may extend beyond the visible frame, and the initial location of the pixel may vary depending on the viewer’s device. Encountering the being is not guaranteed; it requires wandering, scrolling, or waiting. Interface design is treated as part of the artwork’s conceptual structure rather than as a neutral wrapper.
Exhibition and Archive
The live presentation of World and I is hosted on the artist’s website, where the work is encountered as an environment rather than a file. Source code is archived separately using version control systems for timestamping and provenance, without serving as an exhibition platform. This separation preserves the distinction between execution and record, encounter and archive.
Scope and Future Directions
This text focuses intentionally on a single world containing a single being. Future iterations of World and I may introduce multiple worlds, multiple beings, or more complex behaviors. Each of these configurations constitutes a distinct ontological condition and will be addressed as separate works and, potentially, separate papers. Depth is prioritized over breadth in the current discussion.
Conclusion
World and I uses computational minimalism to explore how beings persist within worlds and how worlds condition existence. By reducing life to a single pixel and treating code, language, and interface as integral components of ontology, the project invites reflection on scale, perception, and the limits of knowledge. Rather than offering conclusions, the work sustains uncertainty as a productive space in which multiple worlds, including those beyond human access, may be imagined.
* This text reflects a current articulation of the project and may continue to evolve.