Andreas Nicolas Fischer’s Schwarm 2k17 is a series of three video pieces that are constantly changing abstract composition generated by custom software and running in real-time. A collection of particles moves over a surface leaving behind overlapping traces. This results in a sequence of unique images, whose development is unpredictable.

Fischer's exploration of software art began in earnest in 2012 when he developed the code for Schwarm, a unique algorithm that can generate novel imagery using existing images as an input. The name “schwarm” (the German word for ‘swarm’), suggests a mass gathering adding a further dynamic dimension to the works. The software analyses a sequence of images using their colour values at their origin, which it then spreads like a brush would spread paint. The paths taken by the individual lines are influenced by deterministic randomness. After a predefined amount of time a new image becomes the source of the composition and all values defining shape and direction of the movement are reset. The transition between the images happens seamlessly and is barely perceptible when watching the software in real-time. The original photographs serve only as a source for colour and composition; the main focus is the ephemeral nature of the ever-changing work.