Artificial-life artworks by Ira Greenberg
A living world,
on the wall.
A population of code-grown organisms, developing over time. ProtoTanks brings the artwork, display, dedicated computer and commissioning together in one installation, specified for your space.
An ongoing artistic practice, begun in 2003.
Recorded studio study · July 2026 · 13 seconds, silent
A bronze and violet body flexes beneath long, trailing filaments. This recorded excerpt repeats; the commissioned artwork runs as a simulation.
Observe the work
Every body has
its own movement.
A turn, a pulse, a shifting silhouette. These recordings from the Protobytes studio show individual organisms and a sequence of different forms. Watch at your own pace.
Captured from running studies in July 2026. Presented at their recorded speed, without audio. These are specimen studies; the population view appears below.
A body in water.
Siphonella mirabilis · 14 seconds
An elongated, translucent organism moves through teal water, its fins and filaments following the body.
Many possible forms.
Selected specimens · 39 seconds
A sequence of distinct organisms, from suspended radial forms to long, articulated bodies. Changes between specimens show separate studies.
A naturalist’s introduction
A world to return to.
From a body grown in code to an evolving world in a room. A short film about the organisms, their histories, and the experience of living with ProtoTanks.
2 minutes 16 seconds · Narrated by Despina, a generated voice · English captions available
Explore the film by chapter
Read the transcript and film credits
ProtoTanks. A living world, on the wall. Artificial-life artworks by Ira Greenberg.
Each organism begins in code. A numerical genome shapes its proportions, appendages, surfaces, and movement. Here, a retained rehearsal specimen is rendered as a living engraving.
In the running world, these bodies become a population. Organisms gain and spend energy, reproduce, age, and die.
Offspring inherit traits from their parents, with mutation introducing variation. Across generations, the world accumulates a history of forms and relationships.
The installation brings that evolving world into a room. A display, a dedicated computer, and the artwork are commissioned together for the setting.
A founding organism gives the commission a recorded beginning. Its artist-issued certificate connects the specimen to the acquisition. The world’s ledger records births, deaths, and ancestry.
The rhythm is one of returning and noticing: a different movement, an unfamiliar body, a population that has changed while the system runs.
The work extends more than two decades of Ira Greenberg’s Protobyte practice: drawing, mathematics, and computation brought together through organic form.
Each commission begins with a private demonstration and a conversation about the space. Installation, operation, and care are defined in the agreed proposal.
ProtoTanks. A world to return to. Explore the work at the ProtoTanks website.
Film credits and source notes
Artwork by Ira Greenberg. Narration: Despina, generated with Gemini. Engraved anatomy: Chordozoa sinuosa, rendered from the retained ProtoWorld rehearsal genome. The displayed values are rounded from that record; the specimen is not presented as a commissioned founder.
Studio footage: Comatella tortuosa and Siphonella mirabilis, July 2026. Archive: Jellyfish.01 (2004), ProtoJuncusEffusus (2014), and Glomularus (2022). Images retain their original proportions.
Population, inheritance, hardware, and certificate diagrams are schematic. The interior is a placement concept using actual Protobytes imagery. Installation and care are defined in each commission’s agreement.
The artist · Selected lineage
More than two decades
of artificial life.
For Ira Greenberg, code is an artistic material. Since 2003, his Protobytes practice has moved from drawn computational organisms to sculptural bodies, real-time works and evolving populations.
ProtoTanks carries that sustained inquiry into the room: a world whose forms and relationships unfold over time.
Author of Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art (2007), and a contributor to the Processing 1.0 development team.
2004 · Computational drawing
Jellyfish.01
Early code-grown anatomy, built from line, transparency and repetition.
Archival record
2014 · Real-time work
ProtoJuncusEffusus
A study grown with the artist’s custom C++ ProtoByte library, the engine behind his real-time works of this period.
Protobytes lineage
2022 · Generative artwork
Glomularus
A new expression of the protobyte body through browser-based generative code.
Explore the work
From the artist’s archive
Protobyte study
Vascular structure, intricate surfaces and a body poised between botanical and animal form.
The studio recordings above continue this practice in 2026. Explore the full Protobytes lineage
The commissioned world
From a body
to a population.
Within the ecosystem, organisms gain and spend energy, breed, age and die. Inherited traits carry into new forms, while seasons change the pressures of their environment.
The world continues while the installation runs. Its ledger records births, deaths and ancestry, giving the population a history of its own.
In your space
A place to keep watching.
Begin with a wall, its light and the people who spend time there. The format, display and visual character of your installation are developed around that setting.
Illustrative interiors with actual Protobytes imagery. These are placement concepts; dimensions and availability are confirmed in your proposal.
Studio worlds · Tank studies
One life,
many materials.
Across the Protobytes studios, the same organisms are rendered in different materials: folded paper, engraving, watercolour, pigment dust. In these tank studies, each studio draws the water, the floor and the creatures in its own language.
Real-time recordings of ProtoHabitats studies, September 2026, at recorded speed and without audio. Each tank holds four organisms. These are style studies, not the evolving ProtoWorld population described above.
Open the live studies They run in your browser and look best on a desktop or laptop. Drag to look around; with a keyboard, press V for the next tank.
Commissioning
The artwork.
The complete installation.
One acquisition brings together the artistic world, its founding specimen and certificate, a display, a dedicated computer and commissioning in your space.
Start with a complete installation for one wall. Scale, site requirements, delivery region, lead time and included care are agreed in a written proposal. Pricing is on request.
- 01 · Private demonstration
Spend time with the work.
See the system running and discuss the room, its audience and the character of the world you would like to commission.
- 02 · Site and specification
Agree on the scope and terms.
We assess the space and specify the artwork, display, dedicated computer, mounting, cabling, delivery schedule and support, with a complete project quotation.
- 03 · Installation
Bring the world into the room.
Installation and calibration are coordinated for your site. Responsibilities for any building work are agreed in advance.
- 04 · Commissioning and care
A beginning, and a handover.
The founding specimen is introduced and documented. Handover covers operation, recovery and the service arrangements in your acquisition agreement.
Living with the work.
What is included in the price?
The proposal specifies the artwork and founding specimen, artist-issued certificate, display, dedicated computer, ProtoOS software environment, installation and commissioning. It also identifies included support and any separately priced site work or ongoing services.
What happens after a restart?
Startup, saved-world recovery and any connectivity requirements are part of the installation specification. We review the proposed system’s operation and recovery with you before commissioning.
How is the installation supported?
Your proposal names the support contact and sets out the included service period, response arrangements, hardware responsibilities and any optional renewal charges. These terms are agreed before the commission begins.
Provenance
A recorded beginning.
Your installation has a recorded beginning: a designated founding organism, introduced into your world at commissioning. Its artist-issued certificate connects that specimen to your acquisition. The ecosystem ledger records its life and any descendants, while the retained genome and rendering inputs document its form.
Founding specimen · in vivo
Chordozoa sinuosa
- Body plan
- Radial, undulator gait
- Fingerprint
- 26f4682a06f0f684acadd589fc3def5df8cfea07358321210b4b655d0a1e5056
- Released
- Completed at commissioning
- Collector
- Completed at commissioning
Form, carried forward
A single gene change can produce a visible difference. Breeding carries inherited traits into new forms.
A private viewing
Come watch
a world unfold.
Arrange a private demonstration with the studio. Tell us a little about your space and where it is, and we can discuss the work, practical requirements and next steps.
Pricing on request. Each commission is governed by its agreed specification and terms.
Your enquiry is ready to send.
Open your email app, or copy the draft into a message to inquiry@protobytes.art.