Jess Hewitt

Boundary Issues is a representation of my fascination with polarities. I am drawn to the tension between order and chaos, flatness and depth, unity and freedom. Through this series, I aim to capture the essence of minimal maximalism, where simplicity and complexity combine in a visually interesting way.

The project has been in development for almost a year, and has undergone numerous transformations as I experimented with different design elements. The intuitive challenge was finding and staying true to its unique voice. What was I really trying to say, and how well did those elements support it?

The title of the series is both a reflection of my personal journey and a playful description of the project's design, including the outlines extending into the margin, the animation shifting between contraction and expansion, and the composition feeling sometimes awkward, off-balance, or overcrowded.

Boundary Issues is written in GLSL and vanilla JS. For more information about this series, see the [project writeup](https://jesshewitt.art/boundary-issues.html).

High-resolution images are available upon request.

**Traits**

**Palette** - One of 30 unique palettes  
**Dark Mode** - Swaps lightest and darkest colors  
**Large Shape** - Circle, Triangle, Square, or Hexagon  
**Medium Shape** - Circle, Triangle, Square, or Hexagon  
**Small Shape** - Circle, Triangle, Square, or Hexagon  
**Placement** - One of 14 offset patterns for the large shapes  

**Controls**

**R** - Reset animation  
**T** - Toggle paper texture  
**[Space]** - Pause/resume animation

**Attributions and Thanks**

Boundary Issues uses functions from [MIT-licensed](https://opensource.org/license/mit/) code:

[PCG prng](https://github.com/riccardoscalco/glsl-pcg-prng) by Riccardo Scalco  
[Smooth min function](https://iquilezles.org/articles/smin/) by Inigo Quilez  
[Cubic in-out easing function](https://github.com/glslify/glsl-easings) from glslify  

Thanks to the GenArtClub for invaluable support, feedback, and inspiration.  
Special thanks to Haiver for tireless efforts towards making the Flatlands show a reality.

Boundary Issues is an exploration of minimal maximalism and the tension between opposing forces, such as order and chaos, flatness and depth. The series title playfully references the overcrowded composition, outlines that extend into the margins, and movement of the shapes when animated.