carbon_Y

carbon_Y is a browser-based generative artwork built with p5.js, powered by a custom geometry I call the chestnuts function.

The chestnuts function is taken from a 30 cm drawing: a sequence of 12 bumps whose widths are 2⅓, 2½, 2½ and 2⅔ centimeters, repeated three times. Each bump has a height of 0.5 cm and is encoded as a smooth raised cosine wave, so the proportions of the physical sketch are preserved exactly in code.

Particles move along this one-dimensional chestnuts curve, which is then rotated around a center point in 4-degree steps to create a circular field of rays. A mirrored copy of each ray is also drawn, so every click generates a symmetric grayscale mandala. Trails slowly fade, leaving a soft accumulation of motion over time.

Controls

• START – enter fullscreen and begin carbon_Y

• Click anywhere – move the origin and regenerate the pattern

• + / – keys – increase or decrease particle size

carbon_Y treats the chestnuts function as a measured waveform: a precise, physical curve turned into an infinite, meditative motion field.