pause

"I'm playing around with an idea, and I'm using the BG (ed. Breeding Grounds, fx(hash) project by pxlshrd) codebase to iterate. I think it might make sense as a collab if you are interested.", wrote Mikkel on the 31st of May, along with sending some of the first outputs.

And here we are.

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We find ourselves in a fast-paced space where the norm is to be constantly connected and available. This pace and demand for attention can cause anxiety and despair and ultimately make us lose touch with ourselves.

To prevent this, it can help to take some time out to reflect on ourselves and the outside world. Such pauses often lead us to find new perspectives and ways to deal with the immense flood of information. In the end, only we ourselves are responsible for our well-being, just as we as individuals are condemned to freedom. In this freedom, however, lie an infinite number of possibilities to draw new strength.

Just as "pause" is meant to make the viewer take a step back and allow time off more often, the work on the project itself was precisely that. We developed it slowly over two months, taking breaks along the way.

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Research for this project has taken us far and wide from swarm behavior over existentialism to musical/lyrical confrontation with solitude and alienation. The most apparent inspiration was from long exposure photographs by Alexey Titarenko, time-lapses of the movie/documentary Koyaanisqatsi, and the arpeggio-heavy compositions of Philip Glass. These works deal in one way or another with the "fast-pace" theme we wanted to capture with "pause," either through powerful imagery or haunting aural experiences.

We came to the initial idea from different angles. Still, we've aligned our perspectives through constant feedback and exchanging ideas. Mikkel had the initial idea for the concept, but pxlshrd merged our ideas and developed them into a focused framework for the project.

Even though we started with Breeding Grounds' code base, little of it now remains. Mikkel coded the layout, basic shapes, and patterns while pxlshrd took care of the color palettes and the textures.

This work distribution emerged organically and resulted from (an almost) daily exchange via Twitter and GitHub and playing on our strengths.

Not only are we very proud of "pause," but it has also given rise to a new friendship.

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Press "1" to render with 6.000px (longest side)
Press "2" to render with 9.000px (longest side)
Press "3" to render with 12.000px (longest side)
Press "4" to render with 15.000 px (longest side)

You can press "s" to save a png with the current resolution once the texture is applied.

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Note: We've added features to make sorting the collection more manageable, not for the rarity score. When something is rare, it is because we thought it fits better in small amounts and complements the main aesthetic.