MPC Collaborates With Martha Fiennes for 'Nativity' At the National Gallery

MPC’s collaborative artwork with Martha Fiennes, ‘Nativity’ on display at the National Gallery 

The stunning, multi layered piece is inspired by Renaissance paintings and displays an endlessly evolving variation of the Nativity scene, acted out in ultra slow motion as a random generative experience. Created in conjunction with producer Peter Muggleston, MPC and Fiennes developed SLOimage alongside Existential Software, a real time editing and compositing system used to produce the piece. 

Originally on display in London’s Covent Garden for Christmas 2011, the artwork has been selected to appear as part of the National Gallery’s ‘Building the Picture: Architecture in Italian Renaissance Painting’ exhibition taking place from 30th June – 6th July. 

Award-winning filmmaker Martha Fiennes’ vision of the Nativity is set against a decaying, urban landscape, with Mary as the central figure throughout.  The living work may never repeat the same configuration – whether of figures, background, lighting and weather. 

The piece self-generates both randomly and perpetually; its changes unknown to both the makers and viewers as it transforms through a vast range of images or ‘manifestations’. SLOimage bespoke coded software prompts random decisions as to what to show, generating a compelling, spontaneous and continually evolving image experience.