William Watkins’ Virga: Where Abstraction Meets the Human Gaze

ARTXCODE proudly presents Virga, an evocative exploration of fleeting phenomena by William Watkins. Drawing its name and inspiration from the meteorological event where rain or snow evaporates before touching the ground, Virga embodies the tension between abundance and absence—a metaphor for the transient moments that shape human existence.

Virga emerges from a multi-layered system, generated entirely with code. Through a sophisticated rendering process, Watkins reimagines rain as cascading streaks of pixels, their shifting density forming textured backdrops against which obscure faces emerge. Some appear clearly defined, as if stepping forward from the deluge, while others dissolve into the rainfall, sketch-like and spectral. This interplay of movement, mystery, and realism recalls the delicate nuances of Old Master sketches, where mere traces of lines evoke profound emotional depth. As the faces morph and distort, they oscillate between human likeness and biomorphic structures like corals and shells, inspired by the intricate scientific sketches of German biologist Ernst Haeckel.

Watkins’ compositions are governed by subsystems that manipulate both facial expressions and their surrounding environments. While one system ensures the figures gaze outward with open eyes, another distorts the background textures into facial outlines, employing triplanar mapping to displace surfaces with intricate variations. A particularly striking aspect is the parametric construction of each face, formed from approximately 50 mathematical primitives—spheres, boxes, ellipses—carefully refined by parameters like line length, density, repetition, and blur. The result is a symphony of abstraction and detail that is deeply attuned to the subtleties of human emotion.

Beyond its visual and technical intricacy, Virga carries profound metaphorical weight. Though precipitation vanishes before reaching the earth, virga is a powerful phenomenon, triggering descending currents, temperature shifts, and the formation of new clouds in the troposphere. Watkins embraces this paradox, using the fleeting interplay of light, shadow, and form as a metaphor for human experience: while opportunities or efforts may seem lost in the moment, their aftereffects can be transformative, reverberating beyond what is immediately visible. By inviting viewers to consider what lingers beneath the surface, Watkins reminds us that even the most ephemeral gestures can leave a lasting imprint. As he says, "small moments are integral to the human experience. Life is shaped by them."