Transmuted Structures
Andrew McSweeney
8 February – 8 March 2025
In Transmuted Structures, Andrew McSweeney presents a body of work that explores the transformation of natural forms through digital processes. This exhibition brings together a simulated video piece and a series of intricate drawings created using an axidraw machine, each reflecting McSweeney’s deep engagement with the intersection of nature, technology, and digital preservation.
The work investigates how organic matter can be digitally preserved, manipulated, and reinterpreted through advanced techniques like photogrammetry. Through this process, natural forms are captured in their ephemeral state, reshaped into dynamic structures, and placed within an infinite cycle of transformation. As the digital and physical worlds merge, McSweeney prompts us to reconsider notions of permanence, identity, and the fluidity of material existence.
Video and Sound
Transmuted Structures (2025)
(Simulation with audio – Length: 6:30)
(Audio: Chris Somers)
A simulated video piece exploring the transformation of natural forms through digital processes. The work examines the relationship between organic material and synthetic structure, exploring how digital processes reshape natural forms into dynamic, ever-changing infinite structures. It examines how the process of digital preservation, through techniques like photogrammetry, captures the ephemeral nature of physical objects, and how these scans can be reshaped, manipulated, and re-contextualized. By blending form, material, and movement, the piece investigates the collapse of traditional boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds.
As natural forms shift and dissolve, new structures emerge, revealing the fluidity and impermanence of matter. Through this ongoing transformation, the work challenges the notion of fixed identity, suggesting that both form and material are constantly evolving. Transmuted Structures is an exploration of how physics, technology, and nature intersect, creating dynamic, ever-changing digital ecosystems. In doing so, it reflects on the deeper implications of change, decay, and regeneration, raising questions about preservation, entropy, and the cycle of creation and dissolution in both the physical and digital realms.
McSweeney’s digital interventions create an environment in constant flux, where organic forms dissolve and reassemble in unpredictable ways. By eroding distinctions between the real and the virtual, the work examines how transformation is both an act of preservation and a process of reinvention. Transmuted Structures ultimately invites reflection on the transient nature of all structures—physical, digital, and conceptual—offering a meditation on impermanence and the evolving landscape of existence.
Paper
Prints (2025)
3 X Mixed media on 150 gsm paper (A3).
Three drawings on paper, created using an axidraw machine, that combine design and simple programming to generate precise, intricate compositions.
Combining design with algorithmic programming, the works generate precise, layered compositions that echo the themes of transformation and digital intervention explored in the video piece. These drawings act as physical manifestations of McSweeney’s digital processes, bridging the gap between automated creation and organic form.
About the Artist
Andrew McSweeney is a multidisciplinary artist working across digital media, drawing, and sculpture. He holds a BA in Fine Art from MTU Crawford College of Art & Design (2015) and an MA in Design from the Limerick School of Art & Design (2021). His recent projects include exhibiting at 9.57 (SUNSET) as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival at the Triskel Arts Centre (June 2024) and presenting Green World, an interactive augmented reality application at Earth Rising: Eco Festival at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (September 2024). His solo exhibition, The Weight of Nothing, is currently on display at Studio 12, Wandesford Quay, Cork (February 2025).
McSweeney’s practice explores the intersections of the physical and virtual realms. Using 3D software, photogrammetry, and game engines, he creates immersive digital environments that challenge traditional boundaries between organic and synthetic materials. His work invites audiences to consider the ways in which objects and landscapes can be preserved, manipulated, and reimagined through digital technologies.
For more information, visitwww.xrlinelab.ie.
Exhibition Details
Dates: 8 February – 8 March 2025
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12 pm – 4 pm