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Leading digital artist Dominic Harris works in a distinctly 21st century medium, relying on the latest technology. However, many parallels can be drawn between his approach to representation and traditional methods of painting. The landscapes, creatures and objects that Harris depicts are initially conceived through a meticulous process of digital painting by hand. The artist uses an iPad and a stylus to build up layers of colour, reproducing the subject in a digital environment with immense precision and fidelity. For example, the creatures represented in the Arctic Souls series are initially painted without hair, depicting their naked skin, before the fur is built up through a laborious process. The effect is a remarkably accurate reproduction of the complex interaction of light and colour that play across their fluffy white coats.

Once Dominic Harris has digitally painted his subject, he animates his creations through code. The realms that he conjures are dynamic, always unfolding with infinite possibilities. His digital canvases do not operate on a circuit; not even the artist knows exactly what is going to happen next. Harris’s characters and creatures have a life of their own.

At the heart of Harris’s practice is a desire to create environments that invite audience participation. The artist explains:

'My art lives and breathes through the interaction of its audience. It’s a symbiotic relationship where the art responds to the viewer, and the viewer, in turn, becomes an integral collaborator within the art.'

Through enabling the audience to participate in the digital environments that he creates, Harris places us in unique situations. Through his work, the viewer is invited to interact with animals, such as penguins, butterflies and whales. Other pieces invite us to control the tide, cause avalanches, pull the sun above the horizon and conduct the movement of stars. His work takes the notion coined by Marcel Duchamp that ‘a work of art is completed by the viewer’ to another level. Above all, this is demonstrated by Feeding Consciousness, a work comprised of screens in the form of a tower that presents images based on the latest to-the minute web traffic. This piece does not exist in the control of the artist but is directed by the collective consciousness.

Although operating in a digital medium, so much of Harris’s work displays immense fidelity to the natural world. Through his art, Harris captures birds, penguins, butterflies, arctic environments, underwater habitats, galaxies, and so much more. His work is a pioneering demonstration of the ability of digital mediums to capture the world, inspiring an appreciation for the natural our surroundings, while challenging the popular belief that technology directs us away from nature.

A particularly frequent subject in the oeuvre of Harris is butterflies. The artist explains:

'Butterflies have always captivated me, not just for their beauty but for what they represent: transformation, rebirth, and a sort of delicate resilience. Each butterfly in my works isn't just a digital creature; it's a symbol of the potential for change and growth in all of us.'

Harris has explored an extremely diverse range of possibilities through the representation of butterflies. His digital insects are canvases through which the artist can explore and experiment with colour harmonies and compositions. His butterflies are also vehicles through which meaning is conveyed. For example, Metamorphosis: Unseen is comprised of an array of invented, yet plausible, butterflies, highlighting the number of species that remain undiscovered and the likelihood that through global warming, many species will become extinct before they are seen by humans.

World Stage is another series of butterfly works created by Harris. The patterns on the wings of all of these butterflies vary dramatically in colour and pattern, but collectively they are arranged to form national flags, alluding to the notion that a country is made up of a collection of diverse individuals that work together.

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