Lorraine Berry creates artworks and installations using new media technology. Her work has been exhibited extensively in the UK and internationally. Her practice raises questions as to the nature of reality and perception and often uses illusion, interactivity and visual awareness as a means of challenging preconceptions. Berry's work is very much about the experience of Art, using the experience to draw the viewer in, but its aim is to encourage people to look beyond the surface and consider the bigger questions in life. Combining art, science and technology, her themes look at issues of humanity; who and what we are and our place in the scheme of things. She often works with community groups, schools, museums and galleries to produce installations and interventions that aim to engage the viewer through an element of discovery. Berry was asked to speak on her work at the conference 'Embedding ICT in Art and Design' at Tate Britain on 5 May 2005. She was recently awarded a bursary by the Arts and Humanities Research Board enabling her to undertake the MA in Creative Technology at Salford University, obtaining a distinction in September 2006. As part of the ‘Climate Change Explorer’ project, she has recently completed a placement with the Environmental Change Network (ECN), a group of scientists mapping indicators of climate change. (http://www.ecn.ac.uk/)

This placement resulted in an extensive body of work incorporating net art, 'fractal' images, sound pieces and video animation. (see the 'As Seasons Change' web piece under the 'new media' section on this website). Fractal images are images generated by a computer program, which starts from a random starting point and repeats an algorithm many times over to plot an image. This process can be repeated many times before a satisfactory image emerges. Although an apparently random process, this technique often results in images resembling grass, ferns, landscapes, even insects.  In Berry’s work, these images are used as representations of an underlying natural order, working according to given laws that we may not fully understand. Examples of these images are shown in the digital images section of this website and in the ‘As Season’s Change’ web piece.

Also as part of the ECN placement, Berry developed a method of introducing climate change data into the coordinates of a fractal image, resulting in its gradual deterioration. These images were used to produce an animated video and stills from this video are included on page 38 of the 'As Seasons Change' web piece under the heading 'Metaphorically speaking...'. An image from this series has been accepted for the Common Ground 2008 International Touring exhibition (http://www.commonground2008.com/). This exhibition commences its tour from China later this year.

In addition, the sound piece 'Photosynthesis' also from the 'As Seasons Change' web piece was accepted for the Subtle Technologies 2008 Festival in Toronto. http://www.subtletechnologies.com/2008/?page_id=241

Berry is currently researching the online 3D virtal world 'Second Life' and is using this to produce virtual exhibitions and artworks which examine the shifting boundaries between the virtual and the real.

In recent months Berry has been concentrating on further developing her skills in 3D animation and using this to juxtaposition myth and legend with contemporary concerns. Her latest work, 'Through The Looking Glass' is a 3D animation which places the Greek myths of Pygmalion and Narcissus within the context of modern technology, specifically the use of avatars in virtual worlds. This animation is showing at Gallery Kormind in Copenhagen until 25 January 2009.

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