What are Fractals? The art of science...

Fractals are structures in which self-similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales.

Sounds complicated? Don't worry - we are all very familiar with fractals - they can be found everywhere in nature, from the very small, such as a snowflake, to the very large, such as a galaxy. All these things are fractal structures.

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Mathematicians had been fascinated for a long time by these self-similar structures and in 1975 the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot coined the term "fractals".

He was also one of the first to use computer graphics to create and display fractal geometric images.

Mandelbrot at a TED-Talk in 2010, shortly before his death

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With increasing computer power, machine-generated fractals became more and more refined.

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Soon, the first animated fractals appeared.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/565deb_4bef7f74b26b4f30a0205005dbfef46c/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/565deb_aee16bfe7e7e4b328d8c453668eeb404/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

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Today, driven by the continuously growing computer power over the last 40 years, the first simple Mandelbrot graphics have evolved into highly complex worlds with an enormous level of detail and depth.

All visuals of The Mirage Project are based on the fundamental concept of fractals and often move in the "uncanny valley" between reality and fantasy.

Some of those modern fractals, like the one above, look hyper-real. It it is difficult to fathom that what we see here is just the result of a simple formula. In fact, there are those who believe that we are all living in a highly advanced fractal simulation... Who knows?

As Pablo Picasso had said, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls”. We hope that our Mirages will take you on an interesting journey and gently blow away some of that dust... and maybe, just for a moment, make you gaze at the world with a fresh look.

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Want to know more what it takes to get from a simple fractal formula to a finished Mirage? Check out our tech section .

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The first of the six 'mirages' by Sonarpilot - City in the Sky, is out now. Watch the full video here.

And please, let us know what you think about the Mirage Project! We are looking forward to hearing from you!