Coding by Heart: On Drawing Hearts by Code

In this work, each heart is not a symbol typed from a keyboard. It is a curve, plotted point by point using a mathematical equation:
x(t) = 16 sin³(t), y(t) = 13 cos(t) − 5 cos(2t) − 2 cos(3t) − cos(4t)

Rather than relying on the pre-designed heart character (e.g. ♥ U+2665), commonly seen in emojis or text, the shape is generated live in the sketch with precision, intention, and care. This method resists the shorthand of digital sentiment. It demands a deeper reading of the heart not as a decorative sign but as a structure. One that can be repeated, manipulated, and questioned.

The hearts are arranged in a camouflage grid. Their colours are sourced from military camouflage palettes used by NATO member states and others. Their smooth mathematical curves, soft, universal, and human, are paradoxically embedded in patterns designed for concealment, disruption, and strategic invisibility.

By drawing the heart procedurally rather than selecting it from a typeface, the artwork maintains full control over its formal expression. Each heart is consistent across mediums (screen, print, or vector export), scalable to any resolution, and immune to font inconsistencies. The code becomes a drawing tool, allowing rotation, transition, and variation. It is precise yet organic.

More than just a symbol, the drawn heart becomes a computational gesture. It asks: What does empathy look like when rendered algorithmically? What happens when a sign of care is embedded in a system of control?

In a time when political leaders speak of being "cool, calm, and collected," this work offers another possibility: coded, calculated, and compassionate, though not without contradiction.

Synopsis

Cool, Calm, and Camouflaged is a generative video work built from continuously evolving camouflage patterns constructed entirely from heart-shaped units. The colour palettes used are drawn from real military patterns of all current NATO member states. Over the course of two minutes, the work transitions between these schemes in a seamless and algorithmic flow.

The title refers to a frequently repeated phrase in Finnish political discourse, describing national character as “cool, calm, and collected.” The work recontextualises this phrase within a visual composition that suggests both order and emotional distance. The camouflage functions as both a surface and a signal—associated with protection, alignment, and participation in larger geopolitical structures.

By substituting the angular and abstract geometry of military patterns with hearts, the work introduces a subtle tension between systems of control and symbols of empathy. The heart is not presented sentimentally, but as a modular element subjected to the same procedures of repetition and erasure found in any camouflaged surface.

Looped without clear beginning or end, the work reflects on the cycles of preparedness, alignment, and representation. It does not offer a fixed position, but rather a surface in flux—cool, calm, and collected in appearance, yet shaped by patterns whose meanings remain open to interpretation.