Human Algorithm

These pieces reference the embryo imaging techniques used within clinical IVF practices. In particular, the morphokinetic based algorithms that measure developmental events against calculated variables, to grade the suitability of embryos for implantation. But rather than a digitised computer-based process, these images use drawing, a very hands-on process, which has room for variation and “error” in its depiction of these scientific techniques. In some images, mathematical roulette curves are present, which have been made using Spirograph, the children’s geometric drawing device, that often slipped in the hands of amateurs, leaving unpredictable extra lines that can “ruin” the perfect patterns. Some marks are ingrained in the paper, to create white spaces and lines that cannot be filled by the tonal pencil work, whilst gold and red are used in others, to create unpredictable interventions. What does all this mean for a human algorithm?